Production method and production device of film having fine irregular pattern on surface

ABSTRACT

A method for producing a film having a fine irregular pattern intermittently includes feeding a film to be processed intermittently from upstream side to the vicinity of the surface of a die having a fine irregular pattern, transferring the pattern to the surface of the film by pressing the film against the surface of a die, stripping the processed film on which a pattern is formed from the surface of a die, and then feeding a new film to be processed to the die, wherein the processed film is stripped from the surface of a die by gripping and moving the processed film to the upstream side, and then the processed film is fed by a length of intermittent feed to the surface of a die while preventing the processed film from creasing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/922,324, filed Sep. 13, 2010, which is the U.S. NationalPhase application of PCT International Application No.PCT/JP2009/054270, filed Mar. 6, 2009, and claims priority to JapanesePatent Application No. JP2008-066058, filed Mar. 14, 2008, thedisclosures of each of these applications being incorporated herein byreference in their entireties for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a production method and a productionapparatus for a film having a fine asperity pattern on a surfacethereof. Such a film having a fine irregular pattern on its surface isused as material for producing optical mediums or optical products.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a known method to produce an optical film for use as optical mediumin light guide plates, light diffusion plates, lenses, etc., a film ispressed against a surface having a fine asperity pattern of an originalplate to transfer the fine asperity pattern of the original plate onto asurface of the film. A long resin film is used as the film, and aportion having a predetermined length of the long film which is as aprocessing film is supplied intermittently onto a surface having a fineasperity pattern of a transfer plate (mold), and the processing film ispressed against the surface of the transfer plate to transfer thepattern to the surface of the processing film. After completion of thetransfer, the processing film formed the pattern referred as a processedfilm is pulled in the direction of the length of the surface of thetransfer plate to provide peel off the processed film from the surfaceof the transfer plate. Then, as the processing film peeled is taken up,a new processing film having a predetermined length is supplied onto thesurface of the transfer plate. Such processes to produce opticalproducts are proposed in Patent Literatures 1 and 2.

This generally known method has a peeling step to peel off the processedfilm from the surface of the transfer plate and a supply step to supplythe new processing film having a predetermined length onto the surfaceof the transfer plate. There is a case that the peeling step is calledas a mold release step, since a film having a pattern is released from asurface formed a pattern, that is, a mold. This generally known methodcan suffer problems as described below.

In the peeling step, or the mold release step, therefore, depending onthe characteristics of a film used or depletion of a mold releasingagent on a surface of a mold, the film can adhere to the mold surface todamage the mold surface, leaving flaws, or mold release marks, on atransfer surface of the film.

In the supply step, a thickness and characteristics of the film can haveinfluence on a formation of crease on the film supplied onto the moldsurface.

In addition, a film supplied onto a heated mold surface can soften inlocal portions at increased temperatures before being pressed againstthe surface of the transfer plate, and softened portions can bestretched under the tension applied to the film, leading to localundulation caused on the patterned surface. Such local undulation can becaused significantly in low-rigidity or thin films.

Patent Literature 1: JP 2005-199455 A

Patent Literature 2: JP 2005-310286 A

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention was achieved in the process of study aiming to developtechniques for solving the aforementioned problems. As a processed filmproduced by forming a fine asperity pattern on a portion having apredetermined length of a long film is peeled off from a mold surfacewhile a new processing film based on another portion having apredetermined length of the long film is supplied along the moldsurface, the new processing film is supplied along the mold surfacewithout creases in order to depress the formation of defective patterns.The invention also provides for simultaneously depressing the formationof undulation under local heat load on the film before the processingfilm is pressed against the mold surface.

Described below is a method according to one aspect of the invention toproduce a film having a fine asperity pattern on its surface.

A production method for a film having a fine asperity pattern on itssurface, comprising:

(1-a) a film supply step in which a processing film taken out from along film strip supply source provided on the upstream side is suppliedintermittently by a predetermined length onto a mold surface having afine asperity pattern,

(1-b) a pattern forming step in which the processing film supplied ontothe mold surface in the film supply step is pressed against the moldsurface so that the pattern on the mold surface is transferred to asurface of the processing film to form a fine asperity pattern on thesurface of the processing film,

(1-c) a film peeling step in which a processed film having the patternformed on its surface in the pattern forming step is peeled off from themold surface, and

(1-d) a film delivery step in which the processed film peeled off fromthe mold surface in the film peeling step is delivered to a long filmstrip storage source provided on the downstream side,

thus processing a film in the pattern forming step to produce theprocessed film, peeling it off from the mold surface in the film peelingstep, and then delivering the processed film to the film storage sourcein the film delivery step while another predetermined length of theprocessing film to be processed next is supplied intermittently onto themold surface, in order to perform repeated production of the processedfilm with a predetermined length at a time, wherein

(1-e) the peeling of the processed film in the film peeling step isachieved by a film holding means that holds the processed film and movesfrom the downstream side toward the upstream side in the lengthdirection of the processed film, and

(1-f) the supply of the processing film in the film supply step isachieved as a crease formation prevention means to prevent creases fromforming on the processing film supplied onto the mold surface moves fromthe upstream side toward the downstream side in the length direction ofthe processed film.

The film production method in an embodiment of the invention ispreferably in any of the following three illustrative embodiments.

First Illustrative Embodiment of the Film Production Method:

The film production method according to one aspect of the invention,wherein

(2-a) the film holding means comprises a combination of a main roll thatcomes in contact with the opposite surface of the film to the surface onwhich the pattern is formed and an auxiliary roll that comes in contactwith the surface of the film on which the pattern is formed, and in thecombination, both the roll axis of the main roll and that of theauxiliary roll are arranged respectively in the width direction of thefilm, the main roll and the auxiliary roll are in parallel to each otherwith a sufficient gap for the film to pass between them, and both themain roll and the auxiliary roll are respectively rotatable,

(2-b) the processed film is suspended on the main roll and the auxiliaryroll through an S-shaped path to allow the main roll and the auxiliaryroll to hold the processed film, and after achieving such a film-holdingstate, the film holding means moves along the mold surface from thedownstream side toward the upstream side, in order to peel off theprocessed film from the mold surface,

(2-c) the main roll and the auxiliary roll rotate while the film holdingmeans stays at a position that it has reached after moving to theupstream side, in order to cause a new predetermined length of theprocessing film to be supplied to the downstream side via the main rolland the auxiliary roll, and after completion of the supply of the newpredetermined length of the processing film,

(2-d) the main roll is used as the crease formation prevention means,and

(2-e) while the film holding means moves along the mold surface from theupstream side toward the downstream side, the main roll rotates as itmoves so that the new predetermined length of the processing film issupplied onto the mold surface while preventing creases from beingformed in the processing film.

Second Illustrative Embodiment of the Film Production Method:

The film production method according to another aspect of the invention,wherein

(3-a) the film holding means comprises a combination of a main roll thatcomes in contact with the opposite surface of the film to the surface onwhich the pattern is formed and an auxiliary roll that comes in contactwith the surface of the film on which the pattern is formed, and in thecombination, both the roll axis of the main roll and that of theauxiliary roll are arranged respectively in the width direction of thefilm, the main roll and the auxiliary roll are in parallel to each otherwith a sufficient gap for the film to pass between them, and both themain roll and the auxiliary roll are respectively rotatable,

(3-b) the processed film is suspended on the main roll and the auxiliaryroll through an S-shaped path to allow the main roll and the auxiliaryroll to hold the processed film, and after achieving such a film-holdingstate, the film holding means moves along the mold surface from thedownstream side toward the upstream side, in order to peel off theprocessed film from the mold surface,

(3-c) the main roll and the auxiliary roll rotate while the film holdingmeans stays k at a position that it has reached after moving to theupstream side, in order to cause a new predetermined length of theprocessing film to be supplied to the downstream side via the main rolland the auxiliary roll, and after completion of the supply of the newpredetermined length of the processing film,

(3-d) a rotatable crease-smoothing roll that is located on the upstreamside of the main roll, with a space from, and in parallel to, the mainroll, and in contact with the opposite surface of the film to thesurface on which the pattern is formed, is used as the crease formationprevention means, and

(3-e) while the film holding means moves along the mold surface from theupstream side toward the downstream side, the crease-smoothing rollmoves, while rotating, in coordination with the movement of the filmholding means, in order to prevent the formation of creases in theprocessing film and simultaneously supply the new predetermined lengthof the processing film onto the mold surface.

Third Illustrative Embodiment of the Film Production Method:

The film production method according to another aspect of the invention,wherein

(4-a) the film holding means comprises a combination of a main roll thatcomes in contact with the opposite surface of the film to the surface onwhich the pattern is formed and an auxiliary roll that comes in contactwith the surface of the film on which the pattern is formed, and in thecombination, both the roll axis of the main roll and that of theauxiliary roll are arranged respectively in the width direction of thefilm, the main roll and the auxiliary roll are in parallel to each otherwith a sufficient gap for the film to pass between them, and both themain roll and the auxiliary roll are respectively rotatable,

(4-b) the processed film is suspended on the main roll and the auxiliaryroll through an S-shaped path to allow the main roll and the auxiliaryroll to hold the processed film, and after achieving such a film-holdingstate, the film holding means moves along the mold surface from thedownstream side toward the upstream side, in order to peel off theprocessed film from the mold surface,

(4-c) while the main roll is prevented from rotating after the filmholding means has moved to the upstream side and comes to a halt, thefilm holding means moves from the upstream side toward the downstreamside to supply the new predetermined length of the processing film,

(4-d) a rotatable crease-smoothing roll that is located on the upstreamside of the main roll, with a space from, and in parallel to, the mainroll, and in contact with the opposite surface of the film to thesurface on which the pattern is formed, is used as the crease formationprevention means, and

(4-e) while the film holding means moves along the mold surface from theupstream side toward the downstream side during the processing filmsupply process, the crease-smoothing roll moves, while rotating, incoordination with the movement of the film holding means, in order toprevent the formation of creases in the processing film andsimultaneously supply the new predetermined length of the processingfilm onto the mold surface.

A production apparatus for a film having a fine asperity pattern on itssurface according to the invention is described below.

A production apparatus for a film having a fine asperity pattern on itssurface, comprising:

(5-a) a mold having a mold surface on which a fine asperity pattern isprovided,

(5-b) a film take-out apparatus to taken out a processing film from along film strip supply source,

(5-c) a film pressing apparatus to press the processing film against themold surface,

(5-d) a film peeling apparatus to peel off from the mold surface aprocessed film having a fine asperity pattern produced by taking out theprocessing film from the film take-out apparatus, intermittentlysupplying it onto the mold surface, and pressing it against the moldsurface in the film pressing apparatus to transfer the fine asperitypattern from the mold surface to a surface of the processing film, and

(5-e) a film take-up apparatus in which the processed film delivered tothe downstream side after being peeled off from the mold surface in thefilm peeling apparatus is taken up on the long film strip storage sourcelocated on the downstream side,

thus processing a film in the film pressing apparatus to produce theprocessed film, peeling it off from the mold surface in the film peelingapparatus, and then delivering the processed film to the film take-upapparatus while another predetermined length of the processing filmtaken out from the film take-out apparatus is supplied intermittentlyonto the mold surface, in order to perform repeated production of theprocessed film by a predetermined length at a time, wherein

(5-f) the film peeling apparatus includes a film holding apparatus thatholds the processed film while moving from the downstream side to theupstream side in the length direction of the processed film, and

(5-g) the film holding apparatus includes a crease formation preventionapparatus to prevent creases from being formed in the processing filmsupplied onto the mold surface, and the supply of the processing film isperformed in coordination with the movement of the crease formationprevention apparatus from the upstream side toward the downstream sidein the length direction of the processing film.

The film production apparatus according to an aspect of the invention ispreferably in any of the following three illustrative embodiments.

First Embodiment of the Film Production Apparatus:

The film production apparatus according to an embodiment of theinvention, wherein

(6-a) the film holding apparatus comprises a combination of a main rollthat can come in contact with the opposite surface of the film to thesurface on which the pattern is formed and an auxiliary roll that cancome in contact with the surface of the film on which the pattern isformed,

(6-b) both the roll axis of the main roll and that of the auxiliary rollare arranged respectively in the width direction of the film, and themain roll and the auxiliary roll are in parallel to each other with aspace for the film to pass between them,

(6-c) the main roll is supported on a main roll support arm in such amanner that it can rotate around its roll axis,

(6-d) the auxiliary roll is supported on an auxiliary roll support armin such a manner that it can rotate around its roll axis,

(6-e) the main roll support arm and the auxiliary roll support arm arefixed to a pedestal,

(6-f) the pedestal is supported on a pedestal travelling guide providedin the length direction of the film, in such a manner that it can movein the length direction of the film,

(6-g) the film holding apparatus is connected to a film holdingapparatus moving means to move the film holding apparatus along thepedestal travelling guide,

(6-h) in the film holding apparatus, a processed film is suspended onthe main roll and the auxiliary roll through an S-shaped path to allowthe main roll and the auxiliary roll to hold the processed film, and inthis state, the film holding apparatus is moved by the film holdingapparatus moving means from the downstream side to the upstream side, inorder to peel off the processed film from the mold surface,

(6-i) the main roll and the auxiliary roll rotate while the film holdingapparatus stays at a position that it has reached after moving to theupstream side, in order to cause a new predetermined length of theprocessing film to be supplied to the downstream side via the main rolland the auxiliary roll,

(6-j) the main roll is used as the crease formation preventionapparatus, and

(6-k) while the film holding apparatus is moved by the film holdingapparatus moving means along the mold surface from the upstream sidetoward the downstream side, the main roll rotates as it moves, so thatthe new predetermined length of the processing film is supplied onto themold surface while preventing creases from being formed in theprocessing film which has already been supplied to the downstream sidevia the main roll and the auxiliary roll.

In the first embodiment of the film production apparatus,

(7-a) it is preferable that the film holding apparatus moving meanscomprises either or both of the following:

a combination of the main roll and a main roll rotation driving meansthat positively drives the rotation of the main roll, and

a combination of the pedestal and a pedestal driving means thatpositively moves the pedestal along the pedestal travelling guide.

Second Embodiment of the Film Production Apparatus:

The film production apparatus according to the invention, wherein

(8-a) the film holding apparatus comprises a combination of a main rollthat can come in contact with the opposite surface of the film to thesurface on which the pattern is formed and an auxiliary roll that cancome in contact with the surface of the film on which the pattern isformed,

(8-b) both the roll axis of the main roll and the roll axis of theauxiliary roll are arranged respectively in the width direction of thefilm, and the main roll and the auxiliary roll are in parallel to eachother with a space for the film to pass between them,

(8-c) the main roll is supported on a main roll support arm in such amanner that it can rotate around its roll axis,

(8-d) the auxiliary roll is supported on an auxiliary roll support armin such a manner that it can rotate around its roll axis,

(8-e) the main roll support arm and the auxiliary roll support arm arefixed to a pedestal,

(8-f) the pedestal is supported on a pedestal travelling guide providedin the length direction of the film, in such a manner that it can movein the length direction of the film,

(8-g) the film holding apparatus is connected to a film holdingapparatus moving means to move the film holding apparatus along thepedestal travelling guide,

(8-h) in the film holding apparatus, the processed film travels on themain roll and the auxiliary roll through an S-shaped path to allow themain roll and the auxiliary roll to hold the processed film, and in thisstate, the film holding apparatus is moved by the film holding apparatusmoving means from the downstream side toward the upstream side, in orderto peel off the processed film from the mold surface,

(8-i) the main roll and the auxiliary roll rotate while the film holdingapparatus stays at a position that it has reached after moving to theupstream side, so that the new predetermined length of the processingfilm is supplied to the downstream side via the main roll and theauxiliary roll,

(8-j) a crease-smoothing roll that is located on the upstream side ofthe main roll, with a space from, and in parallel to, the main roll, andin contact with the opposite surface of the film to the side on whichthe pattern is formed, is used as the crease to formation preventionapparatus,

(8-k) the crease-smoothing roll is supported on a crease-smoothing rollsupport arm in such a manner that it can rotate around its roll axis,and the crease-smoothing roll support arm is fixed to the pedestal, and

(8-l) while the film holding apparatus is moved by the film holdingapparatus moving means over the mold surface from the upstream sidetoward the downstream side, the crease-smoothing roll moves, whilerotating, in coordination with the movement of the film holdingapparatus, in order to prevent the formation of creases in theprocessing film that has already been supplied to the downstream sidevia the main roll and the auxiliary roll, and simultaneously supply thenew predetermined length of the processing film onto the mold surface.

In the second embodiment of the film production apparatus,

(9-a) it is preferable that the film holding apparatus moving meanscomprises either or both of the following:

a combination of the main roll and a main roll rotation driving meansthat positively drives the rotation of the main roll, and

a combination of the pedestal and a pedestal driving means thatpositively moves the pedestal along the pedestal travelling guide.

Third Embodiment of Film Production Apparatus:

The film production apparatus according to an embodiment of theinvention, wherein

(10-a) the film holding apparatus comprises a combination of a main rollthat can come in contact with the opposite surface of the film to thesurface on which the pattern is formed and an auxiliary roll that cancome in contact with the surface of the film on which the pattern isformed,

(10-b) both the roll axis of the main roll and the roll axis of theauxiliary roll are arranged respectively in the width direction of thefilm, and the main roll and the auxiliary roll are in parallel to eachother with a space for the film to pass between them,

(10-c) the main roll is supported on a main roll support arm in such amanner that it can rotate around its roll axis,

(10-d) the auxiliary roll is supported on an auxiliary roll support armin such a manner that it can rotate around its roll axis,

(10-e) the main roll support arm and the auxiliary roll support arm arefixed to a pedestal,

(10-f) the pedestal is supported on a pedestal travelling guide providedin the length direction of the film, in such a manner that it can movein the length direction of the film,

(10-g) the film holding apparatus is connected to a film holdingapparatus moving means to move the film holding apparatus along thepedestal travelling guide,

(10-h) in the film holding apparatus, the processed film is suspended onthe main roll and the auxiliary roll through an S-shaped path to allowthe main roll and the auxiliary roll to hold the processed film, and insuch a state, the film holding apparatus is moved by the film holdingapparatus moving means from the downstream side toward the upstreamside, in order to peel off the processed film from the mold surface,

(10-i) while the main roll is prevented from rotating after the filmholding apparatus has moved to the upstream side and come to a halt, thefilm holding apparatus is moved by the film holding apparatus movingmeans over the mold surface from the upstream side toward the downstreamside to supply the new predetermined length of the processing film ontothe mold surface,

(10-j) a crease-smoothing roll that is located on the upstream side ofthe main roll, with some distance from and in parallel to the main roll,and in contact with the opposite surface of the film to the surface onwhich the pattern is formed, is used as the crease formation preventionapparatus,

(10-k) the crease-smoothing roll is supported on a crease-smoothing rollsupport arm in such a manner that it can rotate around its roll axis,and the crease-smoothing roll support arm is fixed to the pedestal, and

(10-l) while the film holding apparatus is moved by the film holdingapparatus moving means over the mold surface from the upstream sidetoward the downstream side during the processing film supply process,the crease-smoothing roll moves, while rotating, in coordination withthe movement of the film holding apparatus, in order to prevent theformation of creases in the processing film, and simultaneously supplythe new predetermined length of the processing film onto the moldsurface.

In the third embodiment of the film production apparatus,

(11-a) it is preferable that the film holding apparatus moving meanscomprises either or both of the following:

a combination of the main roll and a main roll rotation driving meansthat positively drives the rotation of the main roll, and

a combination of the pedestal and a pedestal driving means thatpositively moves the pedestal along the pedestal travelling guide.

In any of the first, second and third embodiments of the film productionapparatus,

(12-a) it is preferable that the external surface of the main rollcomprises foam sponge made mainly of a silicone resin or a fluorineresin.

In any of the first, second and third embodiments of the film productionapparatus,

(13-a) it is preferable that the external surface of thecrease-smoothing roll comprises foam sponge made mainly of a siliconeresin or a fluorine resin.

The use of the film production method or the production apparatus of theinvention serves to produce a film having a good patterned surface.

More specifically, the film production method and the film productionapparatus according to aspects of the invention are designed so that apatterned film is continuously peeled off in the length direction of amold surface by a film holding means that moves in the length directionof the mold surface, thus depressing the formation of peel flaws, ormold release marks, on a film surface. Furthermore, a crease formationprevention means, which moves as a processing film is supplied, isprovided to depress local lifting from the mold surface and creasing ofa predetermined-length portion of the processing film that is suppliednext over the mold surface. As a result, a film having excellentlypatterned surface free of significant creases or undulation can beproduced even from a processing film that is thin or low in rigidity.

According to the first or second illustrative embodiment of the filmproduction method of the invention or the first or second illustrativeembodiments of the film production apparatus of the invention, aprocessing film is supplied onto a mold surface as a rotating roll movesover the entire length of the mold surface in its length direction, sothat the film is supplied and creases are smoothed without allowing themold surface to scrape the film. This serves to decrease damage to themold surface and depress the formation of creases and undulation.

According to the third illustrative embodiment of the film productionmethod of the invention or the third illustrative embodiments of thefilm production apparatus of the invention, the movement of a filmholding means causes a film to be supplied over a mold surface as thefilm is taken out simultaneously from a film supply source. In addition,a crease-smoothing roller moves while rotating to smooth creases in thefilm, in coordination with the movement of a film holding means. Thisserves to shorten the time required for forming a pattern on manypredetermined-length portions of the film supplied one by one, and alsoto depress the formation of creases and undulation during theprocessing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of an example of the film productionapparatus in one aspect of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows the X-X cross section indicated by arrows in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows the workings of major functional components in the firstillustrative embodiment of the film production method of the inventionthat comprises the apparatus given in FIG. 1. The diagrams (a) to (h) inFIG. 3 illustrate time-series change of the workings.

FIG. 4 schematically shows part of a side face of another example of thefilm production apparatus of the invention.

FIG. 5 shows the workings of major functional components in the secondillustrative embodiment of the film production method of the inventionthat comprises the apparatuses given in FIG. 4. The diagrams (a) to (h)in FIG. 5 illustrate time-series change of the workings.

FIG. 6 shows the workings of major functional components in the thirdillustrative embodiment of the film production method of the inventionthat comprises the apparatuses given in FIG. 4. The diagrams (a) to (g)in FIG. 6 illustrate time-series change of the workings.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic side view of still another example of the filmproduction apparatus of the invention.

FIG. 8 shows the Y-Y cross section indicated by arrows in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 shows the workings of major functional components in the thirdillustrative embodiment of the film production method of the inventionthat comprises the apparatuses given in FIG. 7. The diagrams (a) to (h)in FIG. 9 illustrate time-series change of the workings.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   -   1: film production apparatus    -   2: film (film to be processed)    -   2A: film transportation path    -   2F: film storage source (processed film roll)    -   2Fa: film roll    -   2S: film supply source (processing film roll)    -   2Sa: film roll    -   2 a: film surface to be patterned (forming surface)    -   2 b: opposite surface to the film surface to be patterned        (forming surface)    -   3: mold    -   3 a: mold surface    -   10: film pressing apparatus    -   11: column    -   12: press cylinder    -   14 a: upper pressing plate    -   14 b: lower pressing plate    -   15 a: upper heat regulation plate    -   15 b: lower heat regulation plate    -   16S: movable base    -   16 a: upper fixed base    -   16 b: lower fixed base    -   17: elastic plate    -   20: film holding apparatus    -   20A: film peeling apparatus    -   20B: crease formation prevention apparatus    -   21: main roll (peeling roll)    -   21Aa, 21Ab: a pair of main roll support arms    -   22: auxiliary roll    -   22Aa, 22Ab: a pair of auxiliary roll revolution support arms    -   22Ba, 22Bb: a pair of auxiliary roll revolution driving axes    -   22Ca, 22Cb: a pair of auxiliary roll support arms    -   22Da, 22Db: a pair of crease-smoothing roll support arms    -   22 p: stand-by position (original position, initial position)    -   23: main roll (peeling roll) rotation driving means    -   24: auxiliary roll revolution driving means    -   25 a, 25 b: a pair of pedestal travelling guides    -   26 a, 26 b: a pair of pedestals    -   28: main roll rotation controller    -   29: film holding apparatus movement driving means    -   30: heating unit    -   40: cooling unit    -   50: film take-out apparatus    -   51: unwind roll rotation driving means    -   52 a, 52 b, 52 c, 52 d: transportation roll    -   53: unwind buffer unit    -   54: film fixation unit    -   55: box    -   56: suction exhaust means    -   57 a, 57 b: sensor    -   60: film take-up apparatus    -   61: wind-up roll rotation driving means    -   62 a, 62 b, 62 c: transportation roll    -   63: wind-up buffer unit    -   64: transportation driving roll    -   64 a: nip roll    -   65: film fixation unit    -   66: box    -   67: suction exhaust means    -   68 a, 68 b: sensor    -   70: film tension adjustment means    -   71: guide roll    -   72: tension detection roll    -   73: tension detection means    -   401: film production apparatus    -   420B: crease formation prevention apparatus    -   421: crease-smoothing roll    -   701: film production apparatus    -   A: upstream side    -   B: downstream side    -   C: normal rotation direction    -   D: rotate in the reverse direction    -   H: distance (clearance) between main roll or crease-smoothing        roll and mold surface

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Described below are illustrative embodiments of some film productionapparatuses designed to carry out a film production method of theinvention. Aspects of the film production method of the invention willbe understood well by reading the description of each productionapparatus.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of an example of the firstillustrative embodiment of the film production apparatus of theinvention. FIG. 2 shows the X-X cross section indicated by arrows inFIG. 1. FIG. 3 shows the workings of major functional components in thefirst illustrative embodiment of the film production method of theinvention that comprises the film production apparatus given in FIG. 1.The diagrams (a) to (h) in FIG. 3 illustrate time-series change of theworkings.

FIG. 1 shows a film production apparatus 1 according to an embodiment ofthe invention. The film production apparatus 1 is equipped with a mold 3having a fine irregular pattern on its surface (mold surface) 3 a. Afilm take-out apparatus 50 to take out a film (processing film) 2 from along film strip supply source (processing film roll) 2S is installed onthe upstream side of the mold 3.

The film production apparatus 1 is equipped with a film pressingapparatus 10 to press the film 2 supplied onto the mold surface 3 aagainst the mold surface 3 a.

The film production apparatus 1 is equipped with a film peelingapparatus 20A to peel off from the mold surface 3 a the film having afine irregular pattern (processed film) produced by taking out the film2 from the film take-out apparatus 50, intermittently supplying it ontothe mold surface, and pressing the film 2 against the mold surface 3 ain the film pressing apparatus 10 to transfer a fine irregular patternfrom the mold surface 3 a to a surface (forming surface) 2 a of the film2.

The film production apparatus 1 is equipped with a film take-upapparatus 60 that allows a long film strip storage source (processedfilm roll) 2F located on the downstream side to take up the film(processed film) peeled off from the mold surface 3 a by the filmpeeling apparatus 20A and delivered toward the downstream side. A filmtransportation path 2A is formed between the film take-out apparatus 50and the film take-up apparatus 60. The film take-out apparatus 50 andthe film take-up apparatus 60 constitute a film transportation apparatusthat transports predetermined-length portions of the film 2 through thefilm transportation path 2A.

The film peeling apparatus 20A is equipped with a film holding apparatus20. The film holding apparatus 20 holds the film 2 and moves in thelength direction of the film 2. As the film holding apparatus 20 movesfrom the downstream side to the upstream side, the processed film havinga patterned surface is peeled off from the mold surface 3 a. Inaddition, the film holding apparatus 20 is equipped with a creaseformation prevention apparatus 20B. The crease formation preventionapparatus 20B moves in the length direction of the mold 3. Formation ofcreases in the processing film on the mold surface 3 a is prevented asthe crease formation prevention apparatus 20B moves from the upstreamside to the downstream side in coordination with the supply of theprocessing film over the mold surface 3 a.

The film pressing apparatus 10 has a lower fixed base 16 b, and thelower fixed base 16 b is equipped with four columns 11, with an upperfixed base 16 a mounted on the four columns 11. Below the upper fixedbase 16 a, a movable base 16S is connected to the columns 11 in such amanner that it can move vertically. An upper pressing plate 14 a isfixed to the lower face of the movable base 16S, and an upper heatregulation plate 15 a is fixed to the lower face of the upper pressingplate 14 a. A lower pressing plate 14 b is fixed to the upper face ofthe lower base 16 b, and a lower heat regulation plate 15 b is fixed tothe upper face of the lower pressing plate 14 b. The mold 3 is fixed tothe upper face of the lower heat regulation plate 15 b. A fine irregularpattern is formed on the mold surface 3 a.

The upper fixed base 16 a is equipped with a press cylinder 12, and apiston rod extending from the press cylinder 12 is connected to themovable base 16S. The press cylinder 12 works to move the movable base16S downward to press the film 2 against the mold surface 3 a. The presscylinder 12 also works to move the movable base 16S upward to releasethe film 2 from the mold surface 3 a.

The upper heat regulation plate 15 a is used for heating or cooling ofthe film 2 while the film 2 is pressed against the mold surface 3 a, andits temperature is controlled by a heating unit 30 or a cooling unit 40.The lower heat regulation plate 15 b, on the other hand, is used forheating or cooling of the mold 3 while the film 2 is pressed against themold surface 3 a, and its temperature is controlled by the heating unit30 or the cooling unit 40.

The mold 3 may be fixed to the lower face of the upper heat regulationplate 15 a. The flatness of each surface in the film pressing side ofthe upper heat regulation plate 15 a and the lower heat regulation plate15 b is preferably 10 μm or less, more preferably 5 μm or less. Thepattern formation process is not limited only to hot forming, and forinstance, a process using light may be utilized. The upper and lowerheat regulation plates and the heating cooling units connected to themare not necessary if a process other than hot forming is used.

The press cylinder 12 is connected to an oil pressure pump which is notshown in the figure. The oil pressure pump works to control the verticalmovement and the applied pressure of the upper pressing plate 14 a. Thepressing mechanism may be a pressurization mechanism that can controlthe applied pressures of units other than the hydraulic type presscylinder.

The pressure applied for the pattern formation is preferably 0.1 MPa to20 MPa. It is more preferably 1 MPa to 10 MPa. The mold can break ordeform if the pressure is higher than 20 MPa. If the pressure is lessthan 0.1 MPa, a resin constituting the film will not able to flowsufficiently during the pattern formation process, making it impossibleto transfer the pattern on the mold surface to the film surfaceprecisely.

The pressure increase rate of the press cylinder is preferably 0.01MPa/sec to 10 MPa/sec. It is more preferably 0.05 MPa/sec to 5 MPa/sec.If the pressure raising rate is higher than 10 MPa/sec, the resinconstituting the film can fail to deform smoothly to follow the pressureincrease, making it impossible to transfer the pattern on the moldsurface to the film surface precisely. If the pressure increase rate isless than 0.01 MPa/sec, the pattern formation step requires a lengthytime, leading to a low productivity.

The fine asperity pattern on the mold surface 3 a is formed by, forinstance, machine processing, laser processing, photolithography, orelectronic beam drawing. The roughness height of the fine asperitypattern is commonly in the range of 10 nm to 1 mm, and the asperityperiod is commonly in the range of 10 nm to 1 mm. The roughness heightof the fine asperity pattern is preferably in the range of 1 μm to 100μm. The asperity period is preferably in the range of 1 μm to 100 μm. Toform the convex portions of the rough surface, various types ofprotrusions are used to meet the target optical products. Theseprotrusions are commonly arranged discretely or in a dot-like mannerover the mold surface 3 a. The protrusions may be in the shape oftriangular pyramid, circular cone, square pillar, or lens-like shape. Asother example of protrusion arrangement, protrusions with triangular,rectangular, trapezoidal, semicircular, or elliptic cross sections maybe arranged to form stripes.

The material of the mold is selected on the basis of strength underpressure, pattern processing accuracy, and film's releasability. Usefulmaterials include, for instance, stainless steel, nickel, metalmaterials containing copper etc., silicone, glass, ceramics, and resin.Organic film may be provided on the mold surface, as needed, in order toimprove releasability.

An elastic plate 17 having a heat resistant temperature of 130° C. ormore is preferably fixed to the lower face of the upper heat regulationplate 15 a. If the film 2 has some degree of thickness irregularity, theexistence of the elastic plate 17 serves to allow the film 2 to bepressed uniformly over the entire surface of the mold surface 3 a. Theelastic plate 17 may be a 0.3 mm to 1.0 mm thick sheet of, for instance,ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM), silicone rubber, or fluorinerubber. The surface of the elastic plate 17 is preferably treated toallow the plate to slide smoothly on the surface of the film 2. Here,the heat resistant temperature of a material is defined as thetemperature at which the material suffers a 10% change in the tensilestrength when left to stand for 24 hours.

In FIG. 2, the film holding apparatus 20 in the film peeling apparatus20A comprises a combination of a main roll 21 that can come in contactwith the opposite surface 2 b of the film 2 to the surface 2 a on whichthe pattern is formed (forming surface) and an auxiliary roll 22 thatcan come in contact with the side of the film 2 on which the pattern isformed. Both the roll axis of the main roll 21 and the roll axis of theauxiliary roll 22 are arranged in the width direction of the film 2, andthe main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22 are provided in parallel toeach other with a sufficient gap between them for the film 2 to passthrough.

The ends of the main roll 21 are supported on a pair of main rollsupport arms 21Aa and 21Ab in a rotatable manner. The ends of theauxiliary roll 22 are supported on a pair of auxiliary roll revolutionsupport arms 22Aa and 22Ab in a rotatable manner. The pair of auxiliaryroll revolution support arms 22Aa and 22Ab are fixed to a pair ofauxiliary roll revolution driving axes 22Ba and 22Bb. The pair ofauxiliary roll revolution driving axes 22Ba and 22Bb are supported on apair of auxiliary roll support arms 22Ca and 22Cb in a rotatable manner.An auxiliary roll revolution driving means 24 is connected to oneauxiliary roll revolution driving axis 22Ba to allow the auxiliary roll22 to revolve in the normal or reverse direction along thecircumferential surface of the main roll 21. An actuator comprising, forinstance, an electromagnetic motor or pneumatic pressure is used as theauxiliary roll revolution driving means 24.

The embodiment wherein the auxiliary roll is supported in such a mannerthat it revolves around the main roll represents an example in which thefilm is repeatedly held in an S-shaped path between the main roll andthe auxiliary roll and released from that state. The relation betweenthe main roll and the auxiliary roll is not limited to this. There areno specific limitations on the means of moving the auxiliary roll nearthe circumferential surface of the main roll if the film can be held inan S-shaped path. If it is possible to hold the film in an S-shapedpath, that state may be maintained, that is, the constitution may besuch that the film cannot be released from the state.

The lower ends of the pair of main roll support arms 21Aa and 21Ab arefixed to a pair of pedestals 26 a and 26 b provided on either side alongthe length of the mold 3, and the lower ends of the pair of auxiliaryroll support arms 22Ca and 22Cb are also fixed to a pair of pedestal 26a and 26 b.

The pair of pedestals 26 a and 26 b are supported on a pair of pedestalstravelling guides 25 a and 25 b provided on either side along the lengthof the mold 3 in such a manner that it can move in the length directionof the mold 3, and at the same time, the film holding apparatus 20 isequipped with a film holding apparatus movement driving means 29 to movethe film holding apparatus 20 along the pair of pedestals travellingguides 25 a and 25 b. As the film holding apparatus movement drivingmeans 29, a linear drive motor (servomotor) is suitable, but anelectromagnetic actuator or a pneumatic actuator may also be used.

In the film holding apparatus 20, the auxiliary roll 22 is driven by theauxiliary roll revolution driving means 24 to revolve around the mainroll 21, and the processed film is held on the main roll 21 and theauxiliary roll 22 in an S-shaped path, achieving a processed filmgripping state on the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22. After theformation of the gripping state, the film holding apparatus 20 is movedby the film holding apparatus moving means 29 from the downstream sideto the upstream side, achieving the peeling of the processed film fromthe mold surface 3 a.

Subsequently, the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22 rotate whilethe film holding apparatus 20 is kept still at the position that it hasreached after moving to the upstream side, in order to cause a newpredetermined length portion of the processing film to be supplied tothe downstream side via the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22.

Here, in this illustrative embodiment, the main roll 21 is used as thecrease formation prevention apparatus 20B, and as the film holdingapparatus 20 is moved by the film holding apparatus moving means 29 overthe mold surface 3 a from the upstream side to the downstream side, themain roll 21 moves while rotating, so that crease formation in theprocessing film that has already been supplied to the downstream sidevia the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22 is prevented as a newpredetermined length portion of the processing film is supplied over themold surface 3 a.

This illustrative embodiment comprises a main roll rotation drivingmeans 23 connected to the roll axis of the main roll 21, and a main rollrotation controller 28 connected to the main roll rotation driving means23 to control the rotation direction and the rotation rate (rollcircumferential speed) of the main roll 21. It is preferable that aservomotor is used as the main roll rotation driving means 23, and aservo amplifier is used as the main roll rotation controller 28. In thecase where the rotation of the main roll 21 is driven by the main rollrotation driving means 23, it is preferable that the speed of rotationalmovement (circumferential speed) of the main roll 21 caused by the mainroll rotation driving means 23 is synchronized with the speed of thefilm holding means 20 moved by the film holding apparatus movementdriving means 29 along the pair of pedestals travelling guides 25 a and25 b as they are driven.

To peel off the film 2, it is preferable that the rotation of the mainroll 21 is maintained, and that the peeling is carried out while thefilm holding means 20 is moved by the film holding apparatus movementdriving means 29 to the upstream side. By allowing the film holdingmeans 20 to be moved to and fro by the film holding apparatus movementdriving means 29, it is made possible that the peeling of the processedfilm from the mold surface 3 a and the supply of the processing filmover the mold surface 3 a can be performed without forcedly pulling thefilm 2 from downstream side. This serves not only to prevent creaseformation in the mold surface 3 a but also to prevent local stretchingin parts of the processing film heated on the mold surface 3 a,depressing the formation of undulation in the processed film after thepattern formation step. Formation of creases is also depressed duringthe transportation of the film immediately after the peeling.

If the friction between the surface of the film 2 and thecircumferential surface of the main roll 21 is sufficiently high, thefrictional force and the tension acting on the film 2 alone can producea sufficient force to move the film holding means 20 along the pair ofpedestals travelling guides 25 a and 25 b. In this case, it is notnecessary for the film holding apparatus movement driving means 29 towork to actively move the pair of pedestals 26 a and 26 b.

With respect to the circumferential surface of the main roll 21, it ispreferable that at least that part of the circumferential surface thatcomes in contact with the film 2 is formed of foam sponge composedmainly of silicone resin or fluorine resin so that the fine asperitypattern on the mold surface 3 a will not be damaged as the film 2 isbrought in contact with or pressed against the mold surface 3 a duringits supply step, and also that the surface of the main roll 21 will notdegraded by the high-temperature heat of the mold surface 3 a. Highcrease-smoothing effect is achieved as the main roll 21 causes the film2 to be in contact with or pressed against the mold surface 3 a as itmoves.

The circumferential surface of the main roll 21 may be of rubber with acertain degree of elasticity and adhesiveness. In this case, it ispreferable that the rubber has a rubber hardness (JIS K6253) in therange of 40 to 70, more preferably 50 to 60. The circumferential surfaceof the main roll 21 preferably has a center line average roughness (JISB0601) in the range of 0.01 μm to 1.0 μm, more preferably 0.01 μm to 0.5μm. The preferred rubbers include ethylene-propylene-diene rubber(EPDM), silicone rubber, and fluorine rubber.

If the rubber hardness is larger than 70, or if the center line averageroughness is larger than 1.0 μm, the film 2 and the main roll 21 will beunable to make a sufficiently good contact between them. In this case,slippage can take place between the between the film 2 and the main roll21 during the peeling of the film, leading to a decrease in the tensionof the film 2 to reduce the peeling force. If the rubber hardness isless than 40, the rubber can suffer a large deformation during thepeeling motion, leading to unstable peeling motion. In such cases, flawsmay be caused on the film surface by the peeling. Furthermore, it wouldbe difficult to produce a main roll having a center line averageroughness of less than 0.01 μm.

During the peeling of the film from the mold surface, and during itssupply onto the mold surface, the main roll may come in contact with thesurface opposite to the mold-side surface of the film that is in contactwith the mold surface. In such a case where the peeling motion and thesupply motion are performed with the main roll being in contact with thesurface of the film located on the mold surface, it is preferable thatthe pressure applied by the main roll to press film against the moldsurface can be controlled. For instance, it is preferable that both endsof the roll axis of the main roll are provided with a main roll pressureadjustment means composed of an elastic member such as air cylinder andspring to control the pressure applied by the main roll in the directiontoward the mold surface. Thus, the peeling performance andcrease-smoothing effect are enhanced if an appropriate pressure isapplied when the main roll comes in contact with the surface of the filmlocated on the mold surface.

If the film is so thin, or so highly deformable in the thicknessdirection, and the asperity pattern on the mold surface is so fine thatthe mold surface is likely to suffer damage when the main roll comes incontact with the mold surface, it is preferable that the distance(clearance) H between the circumferential surface of the main roll andthe mold surface is in the range of 0.1 mm to 5 mm, more preferably 0.1mm to 1 mm, as shown in FIG. 2.

In view of the peeling motion and supply motion of the film, theclearance H is preferably 5 mm or less. Specifically, it is preferablebecause if the clearance H is 5 mm or less when the film is beingpeeled, the point of peeling of the film from the mold surface islocated nearly immediately below the main roll to allow the peelingpoint to move continuously with the movement of the main roll. It isalso preferable in view of crease formation prevention, because the filmbeing supplied can maintain a high flatness if the clearance H is 5 mmor less when the film is being peeled.

If the clearance H exceeds 5 mm, the point of peeling can stops movingduring the peeling of the film, or the point of peeling can move towardthe upstream side at a speed equal to or higher than the circumferentialspeed of the main roll, leading to discontinuous movement of the pointof peeling. Stripe-like peeling flaws can be left in the width directionof the film at the place where the point of peeling has stopped. Duringthe film supply motion, this can lead to a decreased flatness of thefilm on the mold surface.

If the clearance H is less than 0.1 mm, the mold surface can come incontact with the main roll, and in the case of such a contact, it cancause damage to the fine asperity pattern on the mold surface. Theparallelism between the main roll and the mold surface is preferably 0.5mm or less, more preferably 0.1 mm or less.

The parallelism between the main roll and the mold surface with respectto the mold surface can be measured with a displacement sensor installedon both ends in the width direction of the film. Specifically, thedifference between both ends in the distance from the mold surface tothe roll external surface is measured the main roll comes directly abovethe displacement sensor, and the measured difference is taken as thedegree of parallelism.

Cooling water may be circulated through either the main roll or theauxiliary roll, or both of them, for heat regulation to maintain theroll(s) at a constant temperature. The film is heated at a hightemperature when it is peeled off from the mold surface, and therefore,it is preferable that the main roll and the auxiliary roll are providedwith a heat regulation means to ensure that the temperature of therolls, which are in contact with the film during its peeling, ismaintained as constant as possible. This can lower the temperature tofilm during and immediately after the peeling. It also serves tostabilize the transportation and winding-up of the processed film.

A vibrating means may be provided on the roll axis of the main roll sothat the main roll vibrates minutely in the axis direction duringpeeling of the film. The vibration driving element used in the vibratingmeans may be, for instance, an electromagnetic actuator, linearactuator, or ultrasonic oscillator. It will be effective of thevibrating means is designed only to vibrate the external surface of themain roll. As the entire body of the main roll or the external surfaceof the main roll is vibrated, the vibration propagates to the point ofpeeling through the film on the main roll to permit smooth peeling offilm.

For stable peeling of the film from the mold surface, it is preferablethat an appropriate frictional force required for the peeling takesplace between the main roll and the film. To achieve this, it ispreferable that the contact length between the film and the main roll inthe film length direction can be adjusted in the range of 30 mm to 300mm. Specifically, it is preferable that the main roll has a diameter inthe range of 50 mm to 200 mm. Depending on the position the revolvingauxiliary roll relative to the main roll, if the diameter of the mainroll is less than 50 mm or so, the angle subtended by the film incontact with the main roll can be too small to maintain a sufficientfrictional force on the contact surface. In this case, a sufficientpeeling force will not be produced, or the main roll will not be able tocarry the film forward due to slippage. In cases where the diameter ofthe main roll is less than 50 mm, the curvature of the film will be toolarge, causing deformation such as curling of the film, if the filmstarts to move along the circumferential surface of the main rollimmediately after its release from the mold. If the diameter of the mainroll is more than 200 mm, a large space will be required to allow thepeeling motion. It will likely be difficult to maintain such a largespace in the film pressing apparatus in consideration of apparatusdesign.

To improve the film productivity, it is preferable to increase the speedof the peeling motion. However, as the peeling speed is increased, airwill likely be taken between the main roll and the film during thepeeling, causing slippage to occur easily between them. If such slippageoccurs, the point of peeling of the film from the mold surface willshift discontinuously to cause peeling flaws. It will be effective toincrease the slip-limit speed in order to prevent slippage from takingplace during high-speed peeling. To increase the slip-limit speed, it iseffective to decrease the diameter of the main roll and increase thesurface roughness of the main roll while maintaining an appropriatesubtended angle made by the film in contact with the main roll.

Depending on the material of the film or the shape of the pattern to beformed, it is preferable that the peeling speed is roughly in the rangeof 10 m/min to 100 m/min. It is more preferably 20 m/min to 60 m/min.The productivity will be extremely low if the peeling speed is less than10 m/min, while air will be easily taken between the surface of the mainroll and the film, if the peeling speed exceeds 100 m/min, leading toslippage.

Of the circumferential surface of the auxiliary roll 22, at least thatportion of the circumferential surface with which the film 2 can come incontact may be made of the same material as that of the circumferentialsurface of the main roll 21. Creases can be cause in the film on thesurface of the auxiliary roll if the friction resistance between theauxiliary roll and the film is high. In such cases, it is preferablethat the circumferential surface of the auxiliary roll is made offluorine resin, metal, or other materials that slip smoothly.

Depending on the material of the film or the temperature of the film, itis preferable that the tension applied to the film during peeling isroughly in the range of 1 to 100 N. It is more preferably 5 to 50 N.

It is preferable that the materials that form the circumferentialsurfaces of the main roll and the auxiliary roll have a heat resistanttemperature of 100° C. or more, more preferably 130° C. or more. Theserolls come in contact with a high-temperature film, and can sufferchanges in size or decline in strength over time at high temperatures.Thus, the material forming the circumferential surface should preferablyhave a heat resistant temperature in the range. It will serve to preventfailure in peeling. The heat resistant temperature referred to here isas defined above.

The upper heat regulation plate 15 a and the lower heat regulation plate15 b are both made of an aluminum alloy, and each plate contains anelectric heating heater. The temperature of each electric heating heateris controlled by the heating unit 30. A heating medium flowing passagemay be provided in each heat regulation plate to allow a heating mediumto pass for temperature control of each plate.

Barrel Therm (supplied by Matsumura Oil Co., Ltd.), NeoSK-OIL (suppliedby Soken Tecnix Co., Ltd.), or water heated up to 100° C. or more, forinstance, may be used as the heating medium. For efficient heattransfer, it is preferable that the Reynolds number in the heatingmedium flow channel is in the range of 1.0×10⁴ to 12×10⁴.

With respect to the heating means for the heat regulation plate, thetemperature in two or more portions of the heat regulation plate can becontrolled separately if two or more cast heaters or cartridge heatersare used.

With respect to the heat regulation plate, it is preferable that thetemperature difference in different portions of the plate is within 10°C., more preferably within 5° C., at the heating, cooling, and constanttemperature stages.

Instead of using a heat regulation plate for temperature adjustment ofthe mold 3, or in addition to the heat regulation plate, a heatingmedium flowing passage may be provided in the mold to use a heatingmedium for direct heat regulation of the mold.

A refrigerant flowing passage is provided in the upper heat regulationplate 15 a and the lower heat regulation plate 15 b to allow arefrigerant to pass for temperature control of each plate. Thetemperature control of the plate with the refrigerant is achieved by thecooling unit 40.

The best refrigerant is water, but others such as ethylene glycolsolution may be used. The temperature of the refrigerant is preferablyin the range of 10° C. to 50° C. For efficient heat transfer, theReynolds number in the refrigerant flowing passage is preferably in therange of 1.0×10⁴ to 12×10⁴.

The film take-out apparatus 50 includes the film supply source 2S. Thefilm supply source 2S commonly comprises a film roll 2Sa carrying awound-up film (processing film). The film roll 2Sa is supported, in arotatable manner, on a roll rotation axis provided on a pair of supportarms extending from the base. A unwind roll rotation driving means 51 isprovided on the end of each roll rotation axis. The film take-outapparatus 50 further includes transportation rolls 52 a, 52 b, 52 c and52 d, an unwind buffer unit 53, and a film fixation unit 54.

The film take-up apparatus 60 includes the film storage source 2F. Thefilm storage source 2F commonly comprises a film roll 2Fa carrying awound-up film (processed film). The film roll 2Fa is supported, in arotatable manner, on a roll rotate axis provided on a pair of supportarms extending from the base. A wind-up roll rotation driving means 61is provided on the end of each roll rotate axis. The film take-upapparatus 60 further includes transportation rolls 62 a, 62 b, and 62 c,a wind up buffer unit 63, a transportation driving roll 64, and a filmfixation unit 65.

The unwind buffer unit 53 comprises a box 55 and a suction exhaust means56 connected thereto. The wind-up buffer unit 63 comprises a box 66 anda suction exhaust means 67 connected thereto. Each of the suctionexhaust means 56 and 67 may be a vacuum pump or any other device thatcan perform suction and exhaust of air. As the air is exhausted from theboxes 55 and 66, a pressure difference is caused between the surfaces offilm inserted in the boxes in order to apply tension to the film andsimultaneously hold the film in a U-shape in the boxes.

It is preferable that the length of the film portion staying the boxesis roughly equal to the intermittent delivery length of the filmtransported on both sides of the film processing. Sensors 57 a and 57 bare installed in the box 55. Sensors 68 a and 68 b are installed in thebox 66. These sensors work to detect the positions of the film in theboxes.

After the peeling of the film by the peeling apparatus 20A,transportation of the film is performed in the step of supplying a newpredetermined length of the processing film toward the mold 3 and thestep of taking up the peeled processed film from the mold 3. During thistransportation of the film, the unwind roll rotation driving means 51 orthe wind-up roll rotation driving means 61 is actuated when the sensorsin the boxed detect that the film is out of the predetermined position.If the unwind roll rotation driving means 51 is actuated, the processingfilm is supplied to the box 55 so that a predetermined length of theprocessing film is in place in the box 55. If the wind-up roll rotationdriving means 61 is actuated, on the other hand, the processing film issupplied to the box 66 so that a predetermined length of the processingfilm is in place in the box 66.

The film fixation unit 54 is located on the side of the filmtransportation path 2A to stop or allow the travel of the film in itslength direction. The film fixation unit 65 is located on the side ofthe film transportation path 2A between the mold 3 and thetransportation roll 62 a to stop or allow the travel of the film in itslength direction. Each of the film fixation units 54 and 65 commonlycomprises an air suction box composed of flat plates with their upperface having many suction holes. The stopping and allowing of the travelof the film may be achieved by means of a mechanical clipping mechanisminstead of this air suction mechanism.

The film is pressed by the action of the film pressing apparatus 10, andduring the pattern formation step, both the film fixation unit 54 and 65are actuated to restrain the movement of the film. During the step ofpeeling off the film from the mold surface, the film fixation unit 54 isactuated to fix the film and release the film fixation unit 65. Both thefilm fixation units 54 and 65 are released as the film is transportedfrom upstream side toward the downstream side.

The transportation driving roll 64 is connected to a rotation drivingmeans such as motor (not shown in the figure). For transportation of thefilm, the nip roll 64 a comes close to the transportation driving roll64, and under torque control by the film transportation driving roll 64,the film is transported under a constant tension.

The first illustrative embodiment of the film production method of theinvention is described below with reference to the film productionapparatus 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 that is used to implement it.The film production process comprises a series of steps from (A) to (K)described below.

(A) First, the mold 3 is installed on the upper face of the lower heatregulation plate 15 b. Then, the film roll (processing film roll) 2Sa isset in the film take-out apparatus 50. Subsequently, initial passing ofthe film is carried out through the transportation path 2A from the filmtake-out apparatus 50 to the film take-up apparatus 60. Specifically,the film 2 taken out from the film roll 2Sa in the film take-outapparatus 50 is delivered via the transportation roll 52 a, box 55 inthe unwind buffer 53, transportation rolls 52 b, 52 c, and 52 d, filmfixation unit 54, mold surface 3 a, film holding apparatus 20, filmfixation unit 65, transportation driving roll 64, transportation rolls62 a and 62 b, box 66 in the wind-up buffer 63, and transportation roll62 c, and finally wound up in the film take-up apparatus 60 to form afilm roll 2Fa, thus completing the initial passing of the film throughthe film transportation path 2A.

(B) Then, the heating unit 30 is actuated to heat the upper heatregulation plate 15 a and the lower heat regulation plate 15 b up toprescribed processing temperatures.

(C) Subsequently, the film pressing apparatus 10 is actuated to lowerthe upper heat regulation plate 15 a so that the film 2 is pressedbetween the mold surface 3 a and the upper heat regulation plate 15 a.At this point, the film fixation unit 54 and the film fixation unit 65are actuated to restrain the movement of the film 2. The requiredconditions regarding the temperature for forming an asperity pattern onthe film, press pressure, pressure raising rate, and press time dependon the film properties and the shape of the asperity pattern such asaspect ratio in particular. Commonly, the processing temperature isadjusted in the range of 100° C. to 180° C., press pressure 1 MPa to 10MPa, press time 1 to 60 seconds, and pressure raising rate 0.05 MPa/secto 1 MPa/sec.

(D) After the completion of the simultaneous heating and pressing, thecooling unit 40 is actuated to cool the upper heat regulation plate 15 aand the lower heat regulation plate 15 b. It is preferable that pressingis continued during the cooling. The cooling is continued until the moldsurface 3 a reaches an optimum temperature for peeling of the film. Itis preferable, for instance, to cool the mold surface 3 a until the moldsurface 3 a reaches a temperature equal to or below the glass transitionpoint of the film.

(E) After the completion of the cooling, the press pressure is released.Subsequently, the upper heat regulation plate 15 a is lifted to producea space in the film pressing apparatus 10 to allow the film holdingapparatus 20 to move in the length direction of the mold 3.

(F) After the completion of the rise of the upper heat regulation plate15 a, the film fixation unit 65 is released, and the auxiliary rollrevolution driving means 24 is actuated to allow the auxiliary roll 22to revolve and rise above the main roll 21. This revolution of thisauxiliary roll 21 around the main roll 21 causes the film 2 to be heldon the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22 through an S-shaped pathto achieve the holding of the film 2 on the two rolls. The state of thefilm 2 held on the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22 through anS-shaped path can be referred to as the film 2's clinging-to-roll state.

FIGS. 3( a) to (c) schematically show the movement process of theauxiliary roll 22 from a stand-by position 22P for the main roll 21 andthe auxiliary roll 22 to this clinging state. As the auxiliary roll 22starts to revolute from the stand-by position 22P, the film 2 isreleased from the restrained state in the film fixation unit 65. Thus,the film fixation unit 65 is caused to stop working. In FIG. 3( b), thispause of the film fixation unit 65 is indicated by a black rectangle forthe film fixation unit 65. In FIG. 3( f), the film fixation unit 54 atpause is similarly indicated by a black rectangle for the film fixationunit 54.

(G) Subsequently, the main roll rotation driving means 23 is actuated torotate the main roll 21 in the normal rotation direction (the directionindicated by the arrow C in FIG. 3( d)) and simultaneously the filmholding apparatus movement driving means 29 starts to move the main roll21 and the auxiliary roll 22 toward the upstream side (the directionindicated by the arrow A in FIG. 3( d)) while maintaining the relativeposition of the two rolls, i.e. maintaining the film 2's clinging state.

During this process, to avoid slippage between the film 2 and thesurface of the main roll 21, it is preferable that the speed of the mainroll rotation driving means 23 and that of the film holding apparatusmovement driving means 29 is synchronized so that the circumferentialspeed of the main roll 21 will be equal to the moving speed of the filmholding apparatus 20. In its movement, the film holding apparatus 20 isguided by the pair of pedestals travelling guides 25 a and 25 b. As aresult of this movement of the film holding apparatus 20, the film(processed film) 2 in contact with the mold surface 3 a is peeled offfrom the mold surface 3 a as shown in FIG. 3( d).

(H) When the film 2 is peeled off completely to the upstream side edgeof the mold 3, the main roll 21 stops rotating as shown in FIG. 3( e).

(I) Subsequently, the film 2 is released from the film fixation unit 54,and the film holding apparatus movement driving means 29 stops working,to prevent the film holding apparatus 20 from moving along the pair ofpedestals travelling guides 25 a and 25 b as shown in FIG. 3( f). Inthis state, the main roll rotation driving means 23 starts to rotate themain roll 21 in the normal rotation direction (direction indicated bythe arrow C) to supply a new predetermined length portion of the filmprocessing film) 2 toward the downstream side. This supply of a newpredetermined length portion of the film (processing film) 2 correspondsto the aforementioned intermittent supply of the film 2.

Here, it is preferable that the film 2 is free of slackening on thedownstream side of the auxiliary roll 22 and that an appropriate tensionis applied to the film 2 by the transportation driving roll 64 toprevent formation of creases. This intermittent film supply motion maybe achieved by releasing the main roll 21 from the main roll rotationdriving means 23 so that the main roll 21 is switched over from a drivenstate to an idling state, that is, the main roll 21 is in a freerotation state, followed by actuating the rotation of the transportationdriving roll 64 located on the downstream side.

(J) Subsequently, film fixation unit 54 is actuated. In FIG. 3, the filmfixation unit 54 and the film fixation unit 65 are indicated by a whiterectangle when they are in an actuated state. Then, the main rollrotation driving means 23 starts to rotate the main roll 21 in therotate in the reverse direction (the direction indicated by the arrow Din FIG. 3( g)), and the film holding apparatus movement driving means 29simultaneously causes the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22 to movetoward the downstream side (the direction indicated by the arrow B inFIG. 3( g)), while maintaining the relative positions of the two rolls,that is, maintaining the film 2's clinging state, in order to supply anew predetermined length portion of the film (processing film) 2 overthe mold surface 3 a.

During this process, to avoid slippage between the film 2 and thesurface of the main roll 21, it is preferable that the speed of the mainroll rotation driving means 23 and that of the film holding apparatusmovement driving means 29 is synchronized so that the circumferentialspeed of the main roll 21 will be equal to the moving speed of the filmholding apparatus 20. During this process, to prevent an excessivetension from being applied to the film 2 on the upstream side of theupstream side edge of the mold 3, it is preferable that the tensionapplied to the film is adjusted by either of the unwind buffer 53 or anyof the transportation rolls 52 b, 52 c, and 52 d that has a tensionadjustment function for the upstream side.

If an excessive tension is applied to the film, the film 2 will be morelikely to receive a heat load at the edge of the mold 3. If receiving aheat load, the film can suffer a decrease in elastic modulus in theheated portion, leading a local stretching of in that portion of thefilm. This problem can be solved if an appropriate small clearance thatdepends on the thickness of the film 2 is maintained between thecircumferential surface of the main roll 21 and the mold surface 3 a.

(K) When supply of a new predetermined length portion of the film(processing film) 2 to the mold surface 3 a has been completed, and themain roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22 of the film holding apparatus 20has reached a position on downstream side of the downstream side edge ofthe mold 3, the auxiliary roll revolution driving means 24 is actuatedto revolve the auxiliary roll 22 to its original position (stand-byposition 22P) as shown in FIG. 3( h). At this point, the film 2 isreleased from the clinging to the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll22, and as this released state is achieved, the film 2 is fixed by thefilm fixation unit 65.

During this process, to prevent an excessive tension from being appliedto the film on the downstream side of the downstream side edge of themold 3, it is preferable that the tension applied to the film isadjusted by any of the transportation driving roll 64, transportationrolls 62 a and 62 b, and wind up buffer 63 that has a tension adjustmentfunction for the downstream side. The adjustment of this tension appliedto the film can be achieved by controlling the timing of therevolving-descending motion of the auxiliary roll 22 and the motion ofthe film fixation unit 65. If an excessive tension is applied to thefilm, the film 2 will be more likely to receive a heat load at the edgeof the mold 3. If receiving a heat load, the film can suffer a decreasein elastic modulus in the heated portion, leading a local stretching ofto in that portion of the film.

(L) As a new predetermined length portion of the film is supplied overthe mold surface 3 a, the film held in a U-shape in the box 55 in theunwind buffer unit 53 is pulled out toward the downstream side. Thisstate of the pulled-out film is detected by the sensor 57 a, and basedon this detection, the unwind roll rotation driving means 51 is actuatedto pull out the film 2 from the film roll 2Sa, and the film 2 issupplied to the box 55 in the unwind buffer unit 53.

This state of the film 2 supplied to the box 55 is detected by thesensor 57 b, and based on this detection, the motion of the unwind rollrotation driving means 51 is stopped to stop the supply of the film fromthe film roll 2Sa to the box 55. On the other hand, the predeterminedlength portion of the processed film carrying a completed pattern,transported from the upstream side, is stored temporarily in a U-shapein the box 66 in the wind up buffer unit 63. This storage state isdetected by the sensor 68 b.

Then, the film is taken up by means of the motion of the wind-up rollrotation driving means 61, the take-up motion continuing until the film2 is no more detected by the sensor 68 a, that is, the same length ofthe film as the portion newly stored is taken up, to form the processedfilm roll 2Fa.

(M) As preparations for processing of the next portion of the processingfilm, the upper heat regulation plate 15 a and the lower heat regulationplate 15 b start to be heated when, immediately before, the peeling ofthe film from the mold surface 3 a is completed. The film pressingapparatus 10 is actuated and the upper heat regulation plate 15 a isbrought down close to the surface of the film 2. When the preparationsare completed, the actions in and after the step (C) are repeated.

The actions in the steps (F) to (H) allow smooth film peeling from themold surface 3 a to be incorporated in the intermittent film processingcycle, making it possible to produce processed film free of significantpeeling flaws.

The action in the step (I) allows smooth film supply to be incorporatedin the intermittent film processing cycle, making it possible to produceprocessed film free of significant creases formed during transportation.

The action in the step (J) allows the film to be supplied smoothly overthe mold surface to achieve crease-free film supply over the moldsurface. In this step (J), the film supplied from the downstream side tothe mold surface does not suffer tension to be used for peeling, and thefilm crease formation prevention for the film supplied to the moldsurface is performed in a state free of tension that can cause creasesin the film, making it possible to produce a processed film that is freeof serious undulation after the processing steps.

The processing cycle that incorporates a series of film peeling actionsand film supply actions in the steps (C) to (M) serves to allow the filmfor processing in the next cycle to be supplied quickly to the filmpressing apparatus, to provide an intermittent processed film productionmethod with a high productivity.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic side view of a part of an example of the secondillustrative embodiment of the film production apparatus of theinvention. FIG. 5 shows the workings of major functional components inthe second illustrative embodiment of the film production method of theinvention which is performed with the apparatuses shown in FIG. 4, andthe diagrams (a) to (h) in FIG. 5 illustrate time-series change in theactuation state. FIG. 6 shows the workings of major functionalcomponents in the third illustrative embodiment of the film productionmethod of the invention which is performed with the apparatuses shown inFIG. 4, and the diagrams (a) to (g) in FIG. 6 illustrate time-serieschange in the actuation state.

FIG. 4 shows a film production apparatus 401 according to one embodimentof the invention. The film production apparatus 401 differs from thefilm production apparatus 1 given in FIG. 1 only in the portionillustrating the crease formation prevention apparatus. Thus, thedescription here focuses mainly on the structure and motion of thecrease formation prevention apparatus in the film production apparatus401. Accordingly, the device elements of the film production apparatus401 shown in FIG. 4 that are common to the apparatus shown in the filmproduction apparatus 1 are illustrated with the same symbols as for thedevice elements of the film production apparatus 1.

The film production apparatus 401 has the same apparatus as the filmpeeling apparatus 20A in the film production apparatus 1. Specifically,the film production apparatus 401 has the film holding apparatus 20 thatcontains the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22. The main roll 21and the auxiliary roll 22 are fixed to the pair of pedestals 26 a and 26b by means of the pair of main roll support arms 21Aa and 21Ab and thepair of auxiliary roll support arms 22Ca and 22Cb, respectively. Thepair of pedestals 26 a and 26 b can move along the pair of pedestalstravelling guides 25 a and 25 b. In addition, the film holding apparatusmovement driving means 29 is provided, as needed, to positively move thepair of pedestals 26 a and 26 b along the pair of pedestals travellingguides 25 a and 25 b.

In addition to the main roll 21, the film production apparatus 401 isprovided with a crease-smoothing roll 421 that is located with spacefrom, and in parallel to, the main roll 21 on the upstream side of themain roll 21 and in contact with the opposite surface of the film 2 tothe surface on which a pattern is formed. The ends of thecrease-smoothing roll 421 are supported on a pair of crease-smoothingroll support arms 22Da and 22Db in a rotatable manner. The lower ends ofthe pair of crease-smoothing roll support arms 22Da and 22Db are fixedon the pair of pedestals 26 a and 26 b. Accordingly, thecrease-smoothing roll 421 can move in the length direction of the film 2as the pedestals 26 a and 26 b move. These components thus constitute acrease formation prevention apparatus 420B in the film productionapparatus 401.

In the film production apparatus 1, the main roll 21 serves forprevention of crease formation during film supply to the mold surface,in addition to peeling of the film from the mold surface and supply ofthe film to the mold surface, as described above. In the film productionapparatus 401, on the other hand, peeling of the film from the moldsurface and supply of the film to the mold surface are performed by themain roll 21, but prevention of crease formation during film supply tothe mold surface is implemented by the crease-smoothing roll 421provided separately from the main roll 21.

For the peeling of the film 2 from the mold surface 3 a in the filmproduction apparatus 401, the main roll rotation driving means 23 worksto drive the film holding apparatus movement driving means 29 whilemaintaining a constant torque, so that the film 2 is peeled off from themold surface 3 a as the film peeling apparatus 20A moves toward theupstream side. If a sufficiently high frictional force exists betweenthe surface of the film 2 and the circumferential surface of the mainroll 21, only the combination of the frictional force and the tensionapplied to the film 2 can sufficiently move the film holding apparatus20 along the pair of pedestals travelling guides 25 a and 25 b. In thiscase, it is not necessary for the film holding apparatus movementdriving means 29 to positively move the pair of pedestals 26 a and 26 b,

It is preferable that at least that part of the circumferential surfaceof the crease-smoothing roll 421 that comes in contact with the film 2is formed of foam sponge composed mainly of silicone resin or fluorineresin so that the fine asperity pattern on the mold surface 3 a will notbe damaged even when the film 2 comes in contact with or pressed againstthe mold surface 3 a during its supply, and also that the surface of thecrease-smoothing roll 421 will not be degraded under the influence ofthe mold surface 3 a heated at high temperature. High crease-smoothingeffect can be obtained as the crease-smoothing roll 421, during itsmovement, works to bring the film 2 in contact with, or press itagainst, the mold surface 3 a.

The circumferential surface of the crease-smoothing roll 421 may beformed of metal, resin, or rubber. Preferable resins and rubbers includefluorine resin, ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM), silicone rubber,and fluorine rubber, and it is preferable to use materials that are freeof thermal degradation when coming in contact with or close to a hightemperature mold surface. It is also preferable that the circumferentialsurface of the crease-smoothing roll 421 is subjected to slippageimproving treatment so that the film 2 will not be brought into strongcontact with the circumferential surface crease-smoothing roll 421. Suchslippage improving treatment is achieved preferably by, for instance,increasing the surface roughness of the circumferential surface orsurface coating with diamond-like carbon. If the surface roughness is tobe increased, it is preferable that the center line average roughness(JIS B0601) of the circumferential surface of the crease-smoothing roll421 adjusted to 1.0 μm to 100 μm in order to achieve appropriateslippage properties.

In cases where the film is extremely thin and to be processed on a moldsurface having an extremely fine asperity pattern so that the moldsurface is likely to be damaged by the crease-smoothing roll when itcomes in contact with the mold surface, it is preferable that thedistance (clearance) H between the circumferential surface of thecrease-smoothing roll and the mold surface is adjusted to 0.1 mm to 5mm. It is more preferably in the range of 0.1 mm to 1 mm. The distance(clearance) H between the circumferential surface of thecrease-smoothing roll and the mold surface is illustrated by replacingthe main roll with the crease-smoothing roll in FIG. 2 which shows thedistance (clearance) H between the circumferential surface of the mainroll and the mold surface.

The crease-smoothing roll will not have a sufficient crease-smoothingeffect, if this clearance H exceeds 5 mm. If the clearance H is lessthan 0.1 mm, the mold surface is likely to come in contact with thecrease-smoothing roll, and the fine asperity pattern on the mold surfaceis likely to be damaged if such contact takes place. The parallelismbetween the crease-smoothing roll and the mold surface is preferably 0.5mm or less, more preferably 0.1 mm or less.

The circumferential surface of the crease-smoothing roll 421 ispreferably formed of rubber having a certain degree of elasticity andtackiness. In that case, the rubber preferably has a rubber hardness(JIS K6253) in the range of 40 to 70, more preferably 50 to 60. Thecenter line average roughness (JIS B0601) of the circumferential surfaceof the crease-smoothing roll 421 is preferably 0.01 μm to 1.0 μm. It ismore preferably 0.01 μm to 0.5 μm. Preferable rubbers includeethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM), silicone rubber, and fluorinerubber.

Good contact will not be made between the film 2 and thecrease-smoothing roll 421 if the rubber hardness is more than 70 or thecenter line average roughness is more than 1.0 μm. In that case,slippage can takes place between the film 2 and the crease-smoothingroll 421 during the crease formation prevention step, and the tension onthe film 2 will decrease, leading to a reduction in the crease formationprevention effect. If the rubber hardness is less than 40, the rubberwill suffer a larger deformation during the crease formation preventionstep, making the crease formation prevention motion unstable. In thatflaws may be caused by the crease-smoothing treatment on a surface ofthe film. It will be difficult to produce a crease-smoothing roll havinga center line average roughness of less than 0.01 μm.

Next, the second illustrative embodiment of the film production methodof the invention is described with reference to the film productionapparatus 401 shown in FIG. 4.

In the second illustrative embodiment of the film production method ofthe invention, the peeling of the film 2 from the mold surface 3 a isachieved by allowing the main roll 21 to move in the vicinity of themold surface 3 a and in parallel to the mold surface 3 a from thedownstream side to the upstream side, while the main roll 21 and theauxiliary roll 22 are kept rotating with the film 2 held on the rolls.The motion of peel off the film 2 from the mold surface 3 a is asdescribed for the first illustrative embodiment of the film productionmethod of the invention.

Then, the film 2 is transported with both rolls kept rotating butunmoved in the length direction. This transportation of this film isperformed as described for the first illustrative embodiment of the filmproduction method of the invention.

Then, the film 2 is supplied over the mold surface 3 a, and at the sametime the crease formation prevention for the film being supplied iscarried out as the rotating crease-smoothing roll 421 moves over themold surface 3 a from the upstream side to the downstream side. Thiscrease formation prevention is achieved by the movement of the main roll21, as described above, in the first illustrative embodiment of the filmproduction method of the invention, whereas it is achieved by themovement of the crease-smoothing roll 421 in the case of the secondillustrative embodiment of the film production method of the invention.The two illustrative embodiments differ in this point.

Major actions in the second illustrative embodiment of the filmproduction method of the invention are described below with reference toFIG. 4 and FIG. 5.

Before the peeling of the film 2 from the mold surface 3 a, the filmholding apparatus 20 stays at a stand-by position 22 p as shown in FIG.5( a). In FIG. 5, the arrow A indicates the upstream side (filmunwinding side) while the arrow B indicates the downstream side (filmwinding-up side). To start the peeling motion, the auxiliary rollrevolution driving means 24 is actuated to move the auxiliary roll 22 toa position nearly directly above the main roll 21 as shown in FIGS. 5(b) and (c).

Subsequently, while the main roll rotation driving means 23 keeps themain roll 21 rotating in the normal rotation direction (the directionindicated by the arrow C), the film holding apparatus movement drivingmeans 29 moves the film holding apparatus 20 toward the upstream side(the direction indicated by the arrow A) as shown in FIG. 5( d). Themain roll 21, which is rotating in the normal rotation direction (thedirection indicated by the arrow C), moves toward the upstream sidealong the mold surface 3 a. As it moves, the film 2 adhered to the moldsurface 3 a is peeled off continuously, with the main roll 21 holdingthe film 2.

When the peeling of the film 2 has been completed over the entire areaof the mold surface 3 a as shown in FIG. 5( e), the main roll 21 will nomore move toward the upstream side or the downstream side as shown inFIG. 5( f). Thus, to keep the film holding apparatus 20 still, the filmholding means movement driving means 29 is actuated to stop the movementof the film holding apparatus 20. In this state, the main roll rotationdriving means 23 starts rotating the main roll 21 in the normal rotationdirection (the direction indicated by the arrow C) to deliver the film 2toward the downstream side.

During this delivery of the film, it is preferable that thetransportation driving roll 64 provided on the downstream side rotatesto apply tension to the film 2. This applied tension prevents slackeningof the film 2 moving toward the mold surface 3 a and at the same timeprevents crease formation in the film 2 which is otherwise likely totake place during its transportation.

On the other hand, a delivery of the film 2 in a length for anintermittent feed toward the downstream side can also be carried out byoperating the main roll rotation driving means 23 to keep the main roll21 in a freely rotatable state while keep the transportation drivingroll 64 rotating.

Then, the main roll rotation driving means 23 is actuated to rotate themain roll 21 in the rotate in the reverse direction (the directionindicated by the arrow D) as shown in FIG. 5( g) so that theintermittent predetermined length portion previously moved forward ismoved back like supplying the film 2 to the mold surface 3 a, while thefilm holding apparatus movement driving means 29 is actuated to move thefilm holding apparatus 20 toward the downstream side (the directionindicated by the arrow B). Actuated by this movement, thecrease-smoothing roll 421, which is fixed on the same pedestals 26 a and26 b as the film holding apparatus 20, starts to move, while rotating,along the surface of the film 2 toward the downstream side, incoordination with the movement of the main roll 20.

During this step, the main roll 21 and crease-smoothing roll 421 may bein contact with the surface opposite to the mold-side surface of thefilm that is in contact with the mold surface, or apart from the surfacewith a small clearance in between.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5( h), when the supply of the film 2 to the moldsurface 3 a has been completed and the film holding apparatus 20 hasreached the downstream end of its movement range, the auxiliary rollrevolution driving means 24 actuates revolving-descending motion of theauxiliary roll 22 down to a position nearly directly below the main roll21 in order to release the film 2 from the gripping by the main roll 21and the auxiliary roll 22.

During the peeling of the film from the mold surface and the supply ofthe film to the mold surface, it is preferable that the main rollrotation driving means 23 and the film holding apparatus movementdriving means 29 are synchronized in their motion and the degree oftheir motion so that the circumferential speed of the main roll 21 willbecome equal to the moving speed of the film holding apparatus 20, thuspreventing slippage from taking place between the surface of the mainroll 21 and the film 2.

During the peeling of the film from the mold surface and the supply ofthe film to the mold surface, the crease-smoothing roll 421 may be incontact with the surface opposite to the mold-side surface of the filmthat is in contact with the mold surface. If the crease formationprevention motion is performed with the crease-smoothing roll in contactwith the surface of the film located on the mold surface as in the abovecase, it is preferable that the pressing force applied by thecrease-smoothing roll to press the film against the mold surface iscontrollable. For instance, it is preferable that a crease-smoothingroll pressure adjustment means, such as air cylinder, spring or otherelastic members, is provided at both ends of the roll axis of thecrease-smoothing roll to control the pressing force applied by thecrease-smoothing roll in the direction toward the mold surface. Thecrease-smoothing effect can be enhanced by allowing the crease-smoothingroll to come in contact with, and apply an appropriate pressing forceto, the surface of the film located on the mold surface.

The third illustrative embodiment of the film production method of theinvention is described below with reference to the film productionapparatus 401 shown in FIG. 4. Both the second illustrative embodimentof the film production method of the invention and the thirdillustrative embodiment of the film production method of the inventioncan be implemented using the film production apparatus 401 shown in FIG.4, but some device elements of the film production apparatus 401 work indifferent ways in the two illustrative embodiments. These differentpoints are described below.

In the third illustrative embodiment of the film production method ofthe invention, the peeling of the film 2 from the mold surface 3 a isachieved by allowing the main roll 21 to move in the vicinity of themold surface 3 a and in parallel to the mold surface 3 a from thedownstream side to the upstream side, while the main roll 21 and theauxiliary roll 22 are kept rotating with the film 2 held on the rolls.The motion of peel off the film 2 from the mold surface 3 a is asdescribed for the second illustrative embodiment of the film productionmethod of the invention.

Then, supply of the film 2 to the mold surface is achieved by allowingthe main roll 21 to move in the vicinity of the mold surface 3 a and inparallel to the mold surface 3 a from the upstream side to thedownstream side, while both rolls are prevented from rotating, with thefilm 2 held on these rolls. Specifically, the supply of the film 2 tothe mold surface 3 a is by the film holding apparatus 20 moving from theupstream side to the downstream side while the main roll 21 and theauxiliary roll 22 are prevented from rotating.

This supply of the film 2 to the mold surface 3 a is carried out in adifferent manner from that in the case of the second illustrativeembodiment of the film production method of the invention. In the secondillustrative embodiment of the film production method of the invention,both rolls rotate to temporarily store an intermittent predeterminedlength portion of the film 2 in the space above the mold 3, and then thetemporarily stored portion of the film 2 is moved over the mold surface3 a as the rolls rotate in the opposite direction, thus carrying out thesupply step. The third illustrative embodiment of the film productionmethod of the invention, on the other hand, does not contain the stepfor preliminary delivery of the film 2, and the film 2 is supplieddirectly over the mold surface 3 a as the two rolls move over the moldsurface 3 a under rotations of both rolls being prevented.

The crease formation prevention step for the film 2 supplied to the moldsurface 3 a is carried out by the crease-smoothing roll 421 that rotatesas it moves over the mold surface 3 a, while the film 2 is beingsupplied. This crease formation prevention by the crease-smoothing roll421 is performed through the same action as in the second illustrativeembodiment of the film production method of the invention.

Major steps in the third illustrative embodiment of the film productionmethod of the invention are described below with reference to FIGS. 4and 6.

The steps given in FIGS. 6( a) to (e) are the same as those illustratedabove in FIGS. 5( a) to (e), and therefore, they are not included in thefollowing description.

FIG. 6( f) shows a state in which the film fixation unit 54 on theupstream side has been released while the main roll 21 is prevented fromrotating. In this state, with the film 2 held on the main roll 21 andthe auxiliary roll 22, the two rolls, hence the film holding apparatus20, is moved toward the downstream side by the film holding apparatusmovement driving means 29, so that an intermittent predetermined lengthdelivery portion of the film 2 is taken out from the unwind buffer unit53, and the film 2 thus taken out is supplied over the mold surface 3 a.In coordination with this supply of the film 2 over the mold surface 3a, the crease-smoothing roll 421 moves, while rotating, over the moldsurface 3 a, thus achieving crease formation prevention.

It is preferable that during this step, the transportation driving roll64 to located on the downstream side rotates to apply tension to thefilm 2. This applied tension prevents slackening of the film 2 movingtoward the mold surface 3 a and at the same time prevents creaseformation in the film 2 which is otherwise likely to take place duringits transportation.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6( g), when the supply of the film 2 to the moldsurface 3 a has been completed and the film holding apparatus 20 hasreached the downstream end of its movement range, the auxiliary rollrevolution driving means 24 actuates revolving-descending motion of theauxiliary roll 22 down to a position nearly directly below the main roll21 in order to release the film 2 from the gripping by the main roll 21and the auxiliary roll 22.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic side view of an example of the thirdillustrative embodiment of the film production apparatus of theinvention. FIG. 8 shows the Y-Y cross section indicated by arrows inFIG. 7. FIG. 9 shows the workings of major functional components in thesecond illustrative embodiment of the film production method of theinvention that comprises the apparatus given in FIG. 7. The diagrams (a)to (h) in FIG. 9 illustrate time-series change of the workings. On theother hand, the third illustrative embodiment of the film productionmethod of the invention can also be implemented using an apparatus thatis essentially the same as in FIG. 7 but with some device elementsworking in a different manner.

FIG. 7 shows a film production apparatus 701 according to an embodimentof the invention. Whereas in the film production apparatus 401 shown inFIG. 4, the main roll 21 is provided with the main roll rotation drivingmeans 2, the main roll 21 is not provided with a main roll rotationdriving means in the film production apparatus 701 which does have amain roll 21. The film production apparatus 701, furthermore, contains afilm tension adjustment means for adjustment of tension on the film inthe film transportation path 2A between the mold 3 and thetransportation driving roll 64 located on the downstream side of themold 3. However, the film production apparatus 401 does not have such afilm tension adjustment means.

The film production apparatus 701 and the film production apparatus 401differ in these points. Other device elements are commonly included inthe film production apparatus 701 and the film production apparatus 401.Accordingly, the device elements shown in FIG. 7 that are common toFIGS. 1, 2, and 4 are illustrated with the same symbols. The deviceelements commonly included in these apparatuses have already beendescribed and therefore, are not included in the description below.

In FIG. 8, the main roll 21 given in the film production apparatus 701is not provided with such a main roll rotation driving means 23 as shownin FIG. 4 in which it is connected to the main roll 21. In FIG. 8, theends of the main roll 21 are supported on the pair main roll supportarms 21Aa and 21Ab in a rotatable manner. Specifically, the main roll 21is supported on the pair of main roll support arms 21Aa and 21Ab in sucha manner that it can be rotated when coming in contact with a movingobject (for instance, traveling film).

A film tension adjustment means 70 to apply an appropriate tension tothe film 2 is provided on the downstream side of the main roll 21 in thefilm transportation direction. As shown in FIG. 7, the film tensionadjustment means 70 comprises, for instance, a guide roll 71, tensiondetection roll 72, transportation driving roll 64, and a tensiondetection means 73 that detects tension based on sensing by the tensiondetection roll 72, which are installed from upstream side toward thedownstream side along the film transportation path 2A. Based on thetension on the film detected by the film tension detection means 73, thedriving force of the transportation driving roll 64 is adjusted, and thedegree of the tension applied to the film by the tension adjustmentmeans 70 is controlled.

By using the film production apparatus 701, both the second illustrativeembodiment of the film production method of the invention and the thirdillustrative embodiment of the film production method of the inventioncan be implemented in the same manner as with the film productionapparatus 401. Described below is the use of the film productionapparatus 701 to implement the second illustrative embodiment of thefilm production method of the invention.

Before the peeling of the film 2 from the mold surface 3 a, the mainroll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22 stay at the stand-by position 22 p asshown in FIG. 9( a). Thus, the film holding apparatus 20 stands by whilethe main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22 stay at the stand-by position22 p. In FIG. 9, the arrow A indicates the upstream side while the arrowB indicates the downstream side. To start the peeling of the film 2 fromthe mold surface 3 a, the auxiliary roll revolution driving means 24 isactuated to move the auxiliary roll 22 to a position nearly directlyabove the main roll 21 as shown in FIGS. 9( b) and (c). Subsequently,the film holding apparatus movement driving means 29 is actuated to movethe film holding apparatus 20 toward the upstream side as shown in FIG.9( d). That is, the main roll 21 moves toward the upstream side. At thesame time, the transportation driving roll 64 located on the downstreamside is actuated to apply tension to the film 2. While moving toward theupstream side, the main roll 21 rotates along the film 2 formed apattern on the mold surface 3 a in order to peel off the film 2 from themold surface 3 a from the downstream side toward the upstream side.

When the peeling of the film 2 has been completed over the entire areaof the mold surface 3 a as shown in FIG. 9( e), the film fixation unit54 located on the upstream side is released as shown in FIG. 9( f). Inthis state, to prevent the main roll 21 from moving toward the upstreamside or the downstream side, that is, to prevent the film holdingapparatus 20 from moving along the pair of pedestals travelling guides25 a and 25 b, the film holding apparatus movement driving means 29 isactuated to keep the film holding apparatus 20 still. In this state, thefilm 2 held on the main roll 21 being in freely rotatable and theauxiliary roll 22 being in freely rotatable is taken out with a lengthof intermittent feed by the transportation driving roll 64. In thisstep, as the film 2 moves, the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22are caused to rotate due to the friction between the film and the rolls.

Then, as shown in FIG. 9( g), the film fixation unit 54 located on theupstream side is actuated, i.e. closed, and the film holding apparatusmovement driving means 29 is actuated to move the main roll 21 towardthe downstream side. At the same time, the transportation driving roll64 is actuated to apply an appropriate tension to the film 2, and thefilm 2 is supplied over the mold surface 3 a. In this state, too, thefreely rotatable main roll 21 and the freely rotatable auxiliary roll 22are caused to rotate due to the friction between the film 2 and therolls. The crease-smoothing roll 421 simultaneously moves, whilerotating, along the film 2 in order to prevent the formation of creasesin the film 2 being supplied over the mold surface 3 a.

Then, as shown in FIG. 9( h), when the supply of the film 2 to the moldsurface 3 a has been completed and the film holding apparatus 20 hasreached the downstream end of its movement range, the auxiliary rollrevolution driving means 24 actuates descending motion of the auxiliaryroll 22 down to a position nearly directly below the main roll 21 inorder to release the film 2 from the gripping by the two rolls.

It is preferable that the film used to form a fine asperity pattern onits surface by the film production method and apparatus of the inventionis composed of a thermoplastic resin as main component. Its glasstransition temperature Tg is preferably in the range of 40° C. to 180°C. It is more preferably in the range of 50° C. to 160° C., still morepreferably 50° C. to 120° C.

If the glass transition temperature Tg is less than 40° C., theresulting moldings will be likely to have a decreased heat resistanceand suffer deformation over time. The processing temperature has to beincreased if the glass transition temperature Tg exceeds 180° C. A highprocessing temperature will lead to a decrease in energy efficiency. Inaddition, the film will be likely to suffer large deformation duringheating or cooling, or get caught in the mold surface, making itspeeling difficult. Even if peeled, the film can suffer a decrease in thepattern transfer accuracy or a partial loss of the pattern, leading todefects.

The preferable film materials used as the main component of thethermoplastic resin include, for instance, the following: polyesterresins such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene-2,6-naphthalate,polypropylene terephthalate, and polybutylene terephthalate; polyolefinresins such as polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene,polyisobutylene, polybutene, and polymethylpentene; and others such aspolyamide resin, polyimide resin, polyether resin, polyester amideresin, polyether ester resin, acrylic resin, polyurethane resin,polycarbonate resin, and polyvinyl chloride resin.

Of these, polyester resin, polyolefin resin, polyamide resin, acrylicresin, and their mixtures are preferable because many types ofcopolymerizable monomers are available and as a result, physicalproperties of the materials can be adjusted easily. The film usedpreferably contains the thermoplastic resin up to 50 wt % or more.

The original film, or the film for processing (processing film), to bepatterned by the film production method and production apparatusaccording to embodiments of the invention may be either a monolayer filmof a resin included in the above list or a laminated film composed oftwo or more resin layers. Compared with monolayer films, laminated filmscan be processed easily to develop surface characteristics such aslubricity and friction resistance, mechanical characteristics such asstrength, and thermal characteristics such as heat resistance. In thecase of the laminated films, it is preferable that entire film meets therequirements. Even if the requirements are not met across the entirefilm, a desired pattern will be formed easily on its surface if at leastthe surface layer meets the requirements.

The film for processing (processing film) preferably has a thickness(film thickness) in the range of 0.01 mm to 1 mm. A thickness of lessthan 0.01 mm will be insufficient to perform the processing, whereas ifthe thickness exceeds 1 mm, the film will be so high in rigidity that itwill be difficult to transport the film in the production apparatus.

The film for processing (processing film) may contain, for instance,organic fine particles, inorganic fine particles, dispersing agent, dye,fluorescent brightening agent, antioxidant, weathering agent, antistaticagent, mold releasing agent, viscosity improver, plasticizer, pHadjustor, and salts. In particular, as a mold releasing agent to improvethe peeling properties of the mold surface, the film for processing(processing film) preferably contain small amounts oflow-surface-tension carboxylic acids such as long chain carboxylic acidand long chain carboxylate, and derivatives thereof; long chain alcoholsand derivatives thereof; and low-surface-tension alcohol compounds suchas modified silicone oil.

It is preferable that the surface of the film for processing (processingfilm) to be patterned is laminated with a mold release layer. If theoutermost surface of the film for processing (processing film), or thesurface to come in contact with the mold surface, is provided with amold release layer before the start of processing, it will be possibleto improve the durability (number of repeated use cycles) of the moldrelease coat over the mold surface. Even if the mold used suffer apartial loss of the mold release effect, the peeling of the film fromthe mold surface can be performed uniformly if a mold release layerexists on the film. Even if the mold used has not received any moldrelease treatment, the peeling of the film from the mold surface can beperformed smoothly if a mold release layer exists on the film. In thiscase, the cost for mold release treatment can be reduced.

If the film has a mold release layer, it serves to prevent thedestruction of the pattern from being caused by sticking resin when thefilm is peeled from the mold surface. It also serves to perform thepeeling of the film at higher temperatures, leading to a shorter cycletime. Furthermore, the slippage properties of the film surface, hencethe scratch resistance, will be improved, leading to decreased defectscaused in the manufacturing process etc.

In cases where both outermost layers of the film for processing(processing film) are to be patterned, a mold release layer may beprovided on either of the surfaces to be patterned, or a mold releaselayer may be provided on both outermost layers.

There are no limitations on the resin that constitutes the mold releaselayer, it preferably comprises, as the primary component, siliconeresin, fluorine resin, fatty acid resin, polyester resin, olefin resin,or melamine resin. Of these, silicone resin, fluorine resin, and fattyacid resin are particularly preferable. In addition to the resins, themold release layer may also contain, for instance, acrylic resin,urethane resin, epoxy resin, urea resin, and phenol resin. The moldrelease layer may also contain various additives including, forinstance, antistatic agent, surface active agent, antioxidant, heatresistant stabilizer, weathering stabilizer, ultraviolet absorber,pigment, dye, organic or inorganic fine particles, filler, nucleatingagent, and cross-linked agent. There are no specific limitations on thethickness of the mold release layer, but it is preferably in the rangeof 0.01 μm to 5 μm. The releasability improving effect can be reduced ifthe thickness of the mold release layer is less than 0.01 μm.

There are no specific limitations on the method to be used to form amold release layer on the surface of the film for processing (processingfilm), and there are various useful coating methods including, forinstance, reverse coating, gravure coating, rod coating, bar coating,die coating, and spray coating. In view of productivity and coatinguniformity, it is preferable that the formation of the mold releaselayer is carried out through in-line coating as part of the productionof the film for processing (processing film).

EXAMPLES Example 1

The film production apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 was used to produce afilm having a fine asperity pattern.

(1) the Mold 3 Used:

Size of the mold 3: 500 mm (in the width direction of the film 2)×800 mm(in the traveling direction of the film 2)×20 mm (thickness).

Material of the Mold 3: Copper

The fine asperity pattern formed on the mold surface 3 a: many stripesarranged in the length direction the mold surface 3 a with intervals inthe width direction of the mold surface 3 a. Each stripe has a righttriangular cross section. The right triangle has a height of 10 μm and abase length of 5 μm. The bases of adjacent right triangles are locatedadjacent to each other.

(2) the Film Pressing Apparatus 10 Used:

An oil hydraulic pressure pump having a maximum pressure load of 3,000kN. Both the upper heat regulation plate 15 a and the lower heatregulation plate 15 b are made of an aluminum alloy with a size of 700mm (in the width direction of the film 2)×1,000 mm (in the travelingdirection of the film 2). Each heat regulation plate is connected to theheating unit 30 and the cooling unit 40. The heating unit 30 is of aheating medium circulation type. The heating medium is Barrel Therm No.400 (supplied by Matsumura Oil Co., Ltd.). The temperature of theheating medium is 150° C., its flow rate is 100 liters/min. The coolingunit 40 is of a cooling water circulation type. The temperature of thecooling water is 20° C., and its flow rate is 150 liters/min.

(3) the Film Holding Apparatus 20 Used:

A combination of the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22. The mainroll 21 has an outside diameter of 150 mm. Its outermost layer is madeof silicone rubber having a rubber hardness of 60 (JIS K6253), and thesurface has a center line average roughness of 0.5 μm (JIS B0601). Themain roll rotation driving means 23 comprises a combination of aservomotor and a servo-amplifier that can switch over the rotationdirection of the main roll 21. The auxiliary roll 22 has an outsidediameter of 50 mm. Its outermost layer is made of fluorine resin. Thedistance (clearance H) between the main roll 21 and the mold surface 3 ais 0.5 mm. The film holding apparatus movement driving means 29 formoving to and fro the film holding apparatus 20 including the main roll21 and the auxiliary roll 22 over the mold surface 3 a comprises aservomotor.

(4) The Film 2 Used:

The film 2 is made of polyethylene terephthalate. The film 2 has athickness of 38 μm (thickness unevenness: ±3 μm) and a width of 520 mm.The film 2 is delivered from the film take-out apparatus 50 installed onthe upstream side of the film pressing apparatus 10, and wound up by thefilm take-up apparatus 60 installed on the downstream side of the filmpressing apparatus 10.

(5) Actuation of Major Device Elements Used in the Film ProductionApparatus 1:

First, the film 2 was passed through the film transportation path 2Afrom the film take-out apparatus 50 to the film take-up apparatus 60 viathe film pressing apparatus 10. Then, both the upper heat regulationplate 15 a and the lower heat regulation plate 15 b were heated up to atemperature of 120° C., and the upper heat regulation plate 15 a waslowered to start pressing of the film 2. The pressing was implementedwith a pressure of 5 MPa at the mold surface 3 a and a press time of 30sec. Subsequently, under continuous application of the pressure, boththe upper heat regulation plate 15 a and the lower heat regulation plate15 b were cooled. The cooling was stopped when both heat regulationplates had reached a temperature of 70° C. The pressure was releasedwhen the cooling of the heat regulation plates were completed. The upperheat regulation plate 15 a was lifted up to the upper limit, and then,the film peeling apparatus 20A was actuated.

After the film fixation unit 65 on the downstream side in the filmtransportation direction was released, the auxiliary roll 22 was movedto above the main roll 21 to cause the film 2 to be held on the tworolls through an S-shaped path (the state shown in FIG. 3( c)). Whilethe main roll 21 was kept rotating in the normal direction with acircumferential speed of 20 m/min, the servomotor of the film holdingapparatus movement driving means 29 was actuated. As the main roll 21rotated in the normal direction, the main roll 21 moved toward theupstream side to peel off the film 2 from the mold surface 3 a.

After the film 2 located on the mold surface 3 a was peeled off entirelyfrom the mold surface 3 a, the film fixation unit 54 located on theupstream side was released, and the film holding apparatus 20 thatcontains the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22 was prevented frommoving in the transportation direction of the film 2. Subsequently, themain roll 21 was rotated in the normal direction at a circumferentialspeed of 20 m/min, and an 850 mm intermittent delivery portion of thefilm 2 was transported via the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22into the space above the mold 3. As a result, an intermittentpredetermined length delivery portion of the film 2 a was supplied tothe film production apparatus 1 (the state shown in FIG. 3( f)). At thispoint, an appropriate degree of tension was applied to the film 2 by thetransportation driving roll 64 located on the downstream side so thatthe film 2 staying in the space above the mold 3 will not slacken andcome in contact with the mold surface 3 a.

Then, while the main roll 21 is kept rotating in the reverse directionat a circumferential speed of 20 m/min, the servomotor of the filmholding apparatus movement driving means 29 was actuated to move thefilm holding apparatus 20 at the same speed as the circumferentialspeed. As a result, the film holding apparatus 20, which contain themain roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22, moved toward the downstream side(the state shown in FIG. 3( g)). This movement caused the film 2previously delivered into the space above the mold 3 to be supplied tothe mold surface 3 a, and the main roll 21 moved in coordination withthis supply of the film 2 to prevent formation of creases in the film 2being supplied. During this step, the transportation driving roll 64located on the downstream side was actuated to apply an appropriatetension to the film 2 to prevent the film 2 from slackening and comingin contact with the mold surface 3 a. subsequently, the auxiliary rollrevolution driving means 24 was actuated to bring the auxiliary roll 22back to the stand-by position 22P (the states from FIG. 3( h) to FIG. 3(a)).

The aforementioned process was repeated 10 times to produce 10 pieces ofprocessed film. The intermittent film delivery length is not necessarilythe same as the length of the processed portion of the film, leavingunprocessed pattern-free portions between the ends of processedportions, or producing overlaps of patterns between the ends. Theseportions may be cut out and removed appropriately in manufacturing afinal product of a processed film with a desired length.

The patterned surface of the resulting processed film was evaluatedbased on visual observation, and results showed that the film wascompletely free of peeling flaws and had an entirely uniform processedsurface without creases due to processing, creases due totransportation, or undulation. The time elapsing from the start ofpeeling of the film (processed film) 2 from the mold surface 3 a untilthe completion of supply of a new portion of the film (processing film)2 was 20 seconds.

Example 2

The film production apparatus 401 shown in FIG. 4 was used to produce afilm having a fine irregular pattern.

(1) The mold 3 used: the same as in Example 1

(2) The film pressing apparatus 10 used: the same as in Example 1

(3) The film holding apparatus 20 used:

A combination of the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22. The mainroll 21 has an outside diameter of 150 mm. Its outermost layer is madeof silicone rubber having a rubber hardness of 60 (JIS K6253), and thesurface has a center line average roughness of 0.5 μm (JIS B0601). Themain roll rotation driving means 23 is a servomotor. The auxiliary roll22 has an outside diameter of 50 mm. Its outermost layer is made offluorine resin. The distance (clearance H) between the main roll 21 andthe mold surface 3 a is 10 mm. The film holding apparatus movementdriving means 29 for moving to and fro the film holding apparatus 20including the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22 over the moldsurface 3 a comprises a servomotor.

(4) The crease formation prevention apparatus 420B used:

The crease-smoothing roll 421 has an outside diameter of 50 mm. Itsoutermost layer comprises silicone sponge. The distance (clearance H)between the crease-smoothing roll 421 and the mold surface 3 a is nearly0 mm. Thus, the crease-smoothing roll 421 is in contact with the surfaceof the film 22 b.

(5) The film 2 used: the same as in Example 1.

(6) Actuation of major device elements used in the film productionapparatus 401:

First, the film 2 was passed through the film transportation path 2Afrom the film take-out apparatus 50 to the film take-up apparatus 60 viathe film pressing apparatus 10. Then, both the upper heat regulationplate 15 a and the lower heat regulation plate 15 b were heated up to atemperature of 120° C., and the upper heat regulation plate 15 a waslowered to start pressing of the film 2. The pressing was implementedwith a pressure of 5 MPa at the mold surface 3 a and a press time of 30sec. Subsequently, under continuous application of the pressure, boththe upper heat regulation plate 15 a and the lower heat regulation plate15 b were cooled. The cooling was stopped when both heat regulationplates had reached a temperature of 70° C. The pressure was releasedwhen the cooling of the heat regulation plates were completed. The upperheat regulation plate 15 a was lifted up to the upper limit, and then,the film peeling apparatus 20A was actuated.

After the film fixation unit 65 on the downstream side in the filmtransportation direction was released, the auxiliary roll 22 was movedto above the main roll 21 to cause the film 2 to be held on the tworolls through an S-shaped path (the state shown in FIG. 5( c)). Whilethe main roll 21 was kept rotating in the normal direction with acircumferential speed of 20 m/min, the servomotor of the film holdingapparatus movement driving means 29 was actuated. As the main roll 21rotated in the normal direction, the main roll 21 moved toward theupstream side to peel off the film 2 from the mold surface 3 a.

After the film 2 located on the mold surface 3 a was peeled off entirelyfrom the mold surface 3 a, the film fixation unit 54 located on theupstream side was released, and the film holding apparatus 20 thatcontains the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22 was prevented frommoving in the transportation direction of the film 2. Subsequently, themain roll 21 was rotated in the normal direction at a circumferentialspeed of 20 m/min, and an 850 mm intermittent delivery portion of thefilm 2 was transported via the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22into the space above the mold 3. As a result, an intermittentpredetermined length delivery portion of the film 2 a was supplied tothe film production apparatus 401 (the state shown in FIG. 5( f)).During this step, an appropriate degree of tension was applied to thefilm 2 by the transportation driving roll 64 located on the downstreamside so that the film 2 staying in the space above the mold 3 would notslacken and come in contact with the mold surface 3 a.

Then, while the main roll 21 is kept rotating in the reverse directionat a circumferential speed of 20 m/min, the servomotor of the filmholding apparatus movement driving means 29 was actuated to move thefilm holding apparatus 20 at the same speed as the circumferentialspeed. As a result, the film holding apparatus 20, which contain themain roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22, moved toward the downstream side(the state shown in FIG. 5( g)). This movement caused the film 2previously delivered into the space above the mold 3 to be supplied tothe mold surface 3 a. On the other hand, the crease-smoothing roll 421moved in coordination with this movement of the film holding apparatus20 to prevent formation of creases in the film 2 being supplied to themold surface 3 a. During this step, the transportation driving roll 64located on the downstream side was actuated to apply an appropriatetension to the film 2 to prevent the film 2 from slackening and comingin contact with the mold surface 3 a. Subsequently, the auxiliary rollrevolution driving means 24 was actuated to bring the auxiliary roll 22back to the stand-by position 22P (the states from FIG. 5( h) to FIG. 5(a)).

The aforementioned process was repeated 10 times to produce 10 pieces ofprocessed film. The processed surface of the resulting processed filmwas evaluated based on visual observation, and results showed that thefilm was completely free of peeling flaws and had an entirely uniformprocessed surface without creases due to processing, creases due totransportation, or undulation. The time elapsing from the start ofpeeling of the film (processed film) 2 from the mold surface 3 a untilthe completion of supply of a new portion of the film (processing film)2 was 20 seconds.

Example 3

The film production apparatus 401 shown in FIG. 4 was used to produce afilm having a fine asperity pattern.

(1) The mold 3 used: the same as in Example 1.

(2) The pressing apparatus 10 used: the same as in Example 1.

(3) The film holding apparatus 20 used: the same as in Example 2.

(4) The crease formation prevention apparatus 420B used: the same as inExample 2.

(5) The film 2 used: the same as in Example 1.

(6) Actuation of major device elements used in the film productionapparatus 401:

First, the film 2 was passed through the film transportation path 2Afrom the film take-out apparatus 50 to the film take-up apparatus 60 viathe film pressing apparatus 10. Then, both the upper heat regulationplate 15 a and the lower heat regulation plate 15 b were heated up to atemperature of 120° C., and the upper heat regulation plate 15 a waslowered to start pressing of the film 2. The pressing was implementedwith a pressure of 5 MPa at the mold surface 3 a and a press time of 30sec. Subsequently, under continuous application of the pressure, boththe upper heat regulation plate 15 a and the lower heat regulation plate15 b were cooled. The cooling was stopped when both heat regulationplates had reached a temperature of 70° C. The pressure was releasedwhen the cooling of the heat regulation plates were completed. The upperheat regulation plate 15 a was lifted up to the upper limit, and then,the film peeling apparatus 20A was actuated.

After the film fixation unit 65 on the downstream side in the filmtransportation direction was released, the auxiliary roll 22 was movedto above the main roll 21 to cause the film 2 to be held on the tworolls through an S-shaped path (the state shown in FIG. 6( c)). Whilethe main roll 21 was kept rotating in the normal direction with acircumferential speed of 20 m/min, the servomotor of the film holdingapparatus movement driving means 29 was actuated. As the main roll 21rotated in the normal direction, the main roll 21 moved toward theupstream side to peel off the film 2 from the mold surface 3 a (thestates from FIG. 6( d) to FIG. 6( e)).

After the film 2 located on the mold surface 3 a was peeled off entirelyfrom the mold surface 3 a, the film fixation unit 54 located on theupstream side was released, and the main roll rotation driving means 23was actuated to prevent the main roll 21 from rotating. In this state,the film holding apparatus movement driving means 29 was actuated tomove the film holding apparatus 20 toward the downstream side at a speedof 20 m/min. At the same time, the crease-smoothing roll 421 moved incoordination with the movement of the film holding apparatus 20 toprevent the formation of creases in the film 2 being supplied to themold surface 3 a (the state shown in FIG. 6( f)). During this step, anappropriate degree of tension was applied to the film 2 by thetransportation driving roll 64 located on the downstream side so thatthe film 2 would not slacken and come in contact with the mold surface 3a. Subsequently, the auxiliary roll revolution driving means 24 wasactuated to bring the auxiliary roll 22 back to the stand-by position22P (the states from FIG. 6( g) to FIG. 6( a)).

The aforementioned process was repeated 10 times to produce 10 pieces ofprocessed film. The processed surface of the resulting processed filmwas evaluated based on visual observation, and results showed that thefilm was completely free of peeling flaws and had an entirely uniformprocessed surface without creases due to processing, creases due totransportation, or undulation. The time elapsing from the start ofpeeling of the film (processed film) 2 from the mold surface 3 a untilthe completion of supply of a new portion of the film (processing film)2 was 15 seconds.

Example 4

The film production apparatus 701 shown in FIG. 7 was used to produce afilm having a fine asperity pattern.

(1) The mold 3 used: the same as in Example 1.

(2) The pressing apparatus 10 used: the same as in Example 1.

(3) The film holding apparatus 20 used:

It comprises a combination of the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll22. The main roll 21 has an outside diameter of 150 mm. Its outermostlayer is made of silicone rubber having a rubber hardness of 60 (JISK6253), and the surface has a center line average roughness of 0.5 μm(JIS B0601). The main roll 21 is fixed to a pair of main roll supportarms 21Aa and 21Ab in a freely rotatable manner. The auxiliary roll 22has an outside diameter of 50 mm. Its outermost layer is made offluorine resin. The auxiliary roll 22 is fixed to a pair of theauxiliary roll revolution support arms 22Aa and 22Ab in a freelyrotatable manner. The distance (clearance H) between the main roll 21and the mold surface 3 a is 10 mm. The film holding apparatus movementdriving means 29 for moving to and fro the film holding apparatus 20including the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22 over the moldsurface 3 a comprises a servomotor.

(4) The crease formation prevention apparatus 420B used:

The crease-smoothing roll 421 has an outside diameter of 50 mm. Itsoutermost layer comprises silicone sponge. The crease-smoothing roll 421is fixed to a pair of crease-smoothing roll support arms 22Da and 22Dbin a freely rotatable manner. The distance (clearance H) between thecrease-smoothing roll 421 and the mold surface 3 a is nearly 0 mm. Thus,the crease-smoothing roll 421 is in contact with the surface of the film22 b.

(5) The film tension adjustment means 70 used:

The film tension adjustment means 70 is provided on the filmtransportation path 2A between the film holding apparatus 20 and thetransportation driving roll 64. The transportation driving roll 64 pairswith a nip roll 64 a provided on the opposite side of the film 2. InFIG. 7, the film tension adjustment means 70 comprises guide roll 71,the transportation driving roll 64, the tension detection roll 72 thatis in contact with the surface of the film 2 traveling from the guideroll 71 to the transportation driving roll 64, and the tension detectionmeans (tension meter) 73 that is combined with the tension detectionroll 72. During the peeling of the film 2, the motion of thetransportation driving roll 64 is controlled so that the tensiondetected by the tension meter 73 is maintained constant. To detect thetension applied to the film 2, the tension meter 73 comprises load cellsfixed on the bearing supports provided at both ends of the tensiondetection roll 72 that is supported in a rotatable manner.

(6) The film 2 used: the same as in Example 1.

(7) Actuation of major device elements used in the film productionapparatus 701:

First, the film 2 was passed through the film transportation path 2Afrom the film take-out apparatus 50 to the film take-up apparatus 60 viathe film pressing apparatus 10. Then, both the upper heat regulationplate 15 a and the lower heat regulation plate 15 b were heated up to atemperature of 120° C., and the upper heat regulation plate 15 a waslowered to start pressing of the film 2. The pressing was implementedwith a pressure of 5 MPa at the mold surface 3 a and a press time of 30sec. Subsequently, under continuous application of the pressure, boththe upper heat regulation plate 15 a and the lower heat regulation plate15 b were cooled. The cooling was stopped when both heat regulationplates had reached a temperature of 70° C. The pressure was releasedwhen the cooling of the heat regulation plates were completed. The upperheat regulation plate 15 a was lifted up to the upper limit, and then,the film release apparatus 20A was actuated.

After the film fixation unit 65 on the downstream side in the filmtransportation direction was released, the auxiliary roll 22 was movedto above the main roll 21 to cause the film 2 to be held on the tworolls through an S-shaped path (the state shown in FIG. 9( c)). The mainroll 21, maintained at a circumferential speed of 20 m/min, was movedtoward the upstream side to peel off the film 2 from the mold surface 3a.

After the film 2 located on the mold surface 3 a was peeled off entirelyfrom the mold surface 3 a, the film fixation unit 54 located on theupstream side was released, and the film holding apparatus 20 thatcontains the main roll 21 and the auxiliary roll 22 was prevented frommoving in the transportation direction of the film 2. Subsequently, thetransportation driving roll 64 was actuated to a 1,000 mm intermittentdelivery length of the film 2 was taken up at a speed of 20 m/min (thestate shown in FIG. 9( f)).

Then, the servomotor of the film holding apparatus movement drivingmeans 29 was actuated to move the film holding apparatus 20 toward thedownstream side at 20 m/min. At the same time, the crease-smoothing roll421 moved along the surface of the film 2 being supplied, to prevent theformation of creases in the film 2 being supplied to the mold surface 3a (the state shown in FIG. 9( g)). During this step, the film tensionadjustment means 70 was actuated to apply a tension of 9.8N uniformlyacross the entire width of the film 2. Subsequently, the auxiliary rollrevolution driving means 24 was actuated to bring the auxiliary roll 22back to the stand-by position 22P (the states from FIG. 9( h) to FIG. 9(a)).

The aforementioned process was repeated 10 times to produce 10 pieces ofprocessed film. The processed surface of the resulting processed filmwas evaluated based on visual observation, and results showed that thefilm was completely free of peeling flaws and had an entirely uniformprocessed surface without creases due to processing, creases due totransportation, or undulation. The time elapsing from the start of themold-release of the film (processed film) 2 from the mold surface 3 auntil the completion of supply of a new portion of the film (processingfilm) 2 was 20 seconds.

Comparative Example 1

A film having a fine irregular pattern was produced by using a filmproduction apparatus preparing by removing the film peeling apparatus20A from the film production apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1.

(1) The mold 3 used: the same as in Example 1.

(2) The pressing apparatus 10 used: the same as in Example 1.

(3) Method used for peeling of the film 2 from the mold surface 3 a:

The transportation driving roll 64 was actuated to deliver the film 2from the mold surface 3 a toward the downstream side to achieve thepeeling of the film 2 from the mold surface 3 a. In coordination withthis delivery of the film, a new portion of the film 2 was supplied tothe mold surface 3 a. Except for these device elements and productionconditions relating to the film peeling process and the new film portionsupply process, the other device elements and production conditions werethe same as in Example 1.

The peeling of the film 2 from the mold surface 3 a and the supply ofthe film 2 to the mold surface 3 a was carried out by means of tensionapplied by the transportation driving roll 64 to the film 2. Thisoperation was carried out repeatedly 10 times to prepare 10 pieces ofprocessed film.

The patterned surface of the resulting forming film was evaluated basedon visual observation, and results showed that two of the ten testpieces suffered film breakage caused during the peeling from the moldsurface 3 a. Many linear peeling flaws in the width direction of thefilm were found in the remaining eight pieces. Many creases due toforming, creases due to transportation, and undulations were found inthe test pieces free of film breakage. The time elapsing from the startof peeling of the film until the completion of supply of the film was 35seconds. It was found that film breakage took place frequently duringthe peeling step if an increased tension was applied to the film tocomplete the peeling step in less than 35 seconds.

The method and apparatus according to embodiments of the invention forproduction of a film having a fine asperity pattern on its surface areto be used to produce a film having a fine asperity pattern on itssurface to be used as material for optical mediums or optical products.

1. A production apparatus for a film having a fine asperity pattern on asurface thereof, comprising: (1-a) a mold having a mold surface on whicha fine asperity pattern is provided, (1-b) a film take-out apparatus totake out a processing film from a long film strip supply source, (1-c) afilm pressing apparatus to press said processing film against said moldsurface, (1-d) a film peeling apparatus to peel off from said moldsurface a processed film to having a fine asperity pattern produced bytaking out the processing film from said film take-out apparatus,intermittently supplying it onto said mold surface, and pressing itagainst said mold surface in said film pressing apparatus to transfersaid fine asperity pattern from said mold surface to a surface of saidprocessing film, and (1-e) a film take-up apparatus in which saidprocessed film delivered to the downstream side after being peeled offfrom said mold surface in said film peeling apparatus is taken up on along film strip storage source located on the downstream side, thusprocessing a film in said film pressing apparatus to produce saidprocessed film, peeling it off from said mold surface in said filmpeeling apparatus, and then delivering said processed film to said filmtake-up apparatus while another predetermined length of said processingfilm taken out from said film take-out apparatus is suppliedintermittently onto said mold surface, in order to perform repeatedproduction of said processed film by a predetermined length at a time,wherein (1-f) said film peeling apparatus includes a film holdingapparatus that holds said processed film while moving from thedownstream side to the upstream side in the length direction of saidprocessed film, and (1-g) said film holding apparatus includes a creaseformation prevention apparatus to prevent creases from being formed insaid processing film supplied onto said mold surface, and the supply ofsaid processing film is performed in coordination with the movement ofsaid crease formation prevention apparatus from the upstream side towardthe downstream side in the length direction of said processing film. 2.The film production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein (2-a) saidfilm holding apparatus comprises a combination of a main roll that cancome in contact with the opposite surface of said film to the surface onwhich said pattern is formed and an auxiliary roll that can come incontact with the surface of said film on which said pattern is formed,(2-b) both the roll axis of said main roll and that of said auxiliaryroll are arranged respectively in the width direction of said film, andsaid main roll and said auxiliary roll are in parallel to each otherwith a space for said film to pass between them, (2-c) said main roll issupported on a main roll support arm in such a manner that it can rotatearound its roll axis, (2-d) said auxiliary roll is supported on anauxiliary roll support arm in such a manner that it can rotate aroundits roll axis, (2-e) said main roll support arm and said auxiliary rollsupport arm are fixed to a pedestal, (2-f) said pedestal is supported ona pedestal travelling guide provided in the length direction of saidfilm, in such a manner that it can move in the length direction of saidfilm, (2-g) said film holding apparatus is connected to a film holdingapparatus moving means to move said film holding apparatus along saidpedestal travelling guide, (2-h) in said film holding apparatus, aprocessed film is suspended on said main roll and said auxiliary rollthrough an S-shaped path to allow said main roll and said auxiliary rollto hold said processed film, and in this state, said film holdingapparatus is moved by said film holding apparatus moving means from thedownstream side to the upstream side, in order to peel off saidprocessed film from said mold surface, (2-i) said main roll and saidauxiliary roll rotate while said film holding apparatus stays at aposition that it has reached after moving to the upstream side, in orderto cause a new predetermined length of the processing film to besupplied to the downstream side via said main roll and said auxiliaryroll, (2-j) said main roll is used as said crease formation preventionapparatus, and (2-k) while said film holding apparatus is moved by saidfilm holding apparatus moving means along said mold surface from theupstream side toward the downstream side, said main roll rotates as itmoves, so that said new predetermined length of the processing film issupplied onto said mold surface while preventing creases from beingformed in said processing film which has already been supplied to thedownstream side via said main roll and said auxiliary roll.
 3. The filmproduction apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said film holdingapparatus moving means comprises either or both of the following: acombination of said main roll and a main roll rotation driving meansthat positively drives the rotation of said main roll, and a combinationof said pedestal and a pedestal driving means that positively moves saidpedestal along said pedestal travelling guide.
 4. The film productionapparatus according to claim 1, wherein (4-a) said film holdingapparatus comprises a combination of a main roll that can come incontact with the opposite surface of said film to the surface on whichsaid pattern is formed and an auxiliary roll that can come in contactwith the surface of said film on which said pattern is formed, (4-b)both the roll axis of said main roll and that of said auxiliary roll arearranged in the width direction of said film, and said main roll andsaid auxiliary roll are respectively in parallel to each other with aspace for said film to pass between them, (4-c) said main roll issupported on a main roll support arm in such a manner that it can rotatearound its roll axis, (4-d) said auxiliary roll is supported on anauxiliary roll support arm in such a manner that it can rotate aroundits roll axis, (4-e) said main roll support arm and said auxiliary rollsupport arm are fixed to a pedestal, (4-f) said pedestal is supported ona pedestal travelling guide provided in the length direction of saidfilm, in such a manner that it can move in the length direction of saidfilm, (4-g) said film holding apparatus is connected to a film holdingapparatus moving means to move said film holding apparatus along saidpedestal travelling guide, (4-h) in said film holding apparatus, aprocessed film is suspended on said main roll and said auxiliary rollthrough an S-shaped path to allow said main roll and said auxiliary rollto hold said processed film, and in this state, said film holdingapparatus is moved by said film holding apparatus moving means from thedownstream side toward the upstream side, in order to peel off saidprocessed film from said mold surface, (4-i) said main roll and saidauxiliary roll rotate while said film holding apparatus stays at theposition that it has reached after moving to the upstream side, so thata new predetermined length of the processing film is supplied to thedownstream side via said main roll and said auxiliary roll, (4-j) acrease-smoothing roll that is located on the upstream side of said mainroll, with a space from, and in parallel to, said main roll, and incontact with the opposite surface of said film to the side on which saidpattern is formed, is used as said crease formation preventionapparatus, (4-k) said crease-smoothing roll is supported on acrease-smoothing roll support arm in such a manner that it can rotatearound its roll axis, and said crease-smoothing roll support arm isfixed to said pedestal, and (4-l) while said film holding apparatus ismoved by said film holding apparatus moving means over said mold surfacefrom the upstream side toward the downstream side, said crease-smoothingroll moves, while rotating, in coordination with the movement of saidfilm holding apparatus, in order to prevent the formation of creases insaid processing film that has already been supplied to the downstreamside via said main roll and said auxiliary roll, and simultaneouslysupply said new predetermined length of the processing film onto saidmold surface.
 5. The film production apparatus according to claim 4,wherein said film holding apparatus moving means comprises either orboth of the following: a combination of said main roll and a main rollrotation driving means that positively drives the rotation of said mainroll, and a combination of said pedestal and a pedestal driving meansthat positively moves said pedestal along said pedestal travellingguide.
 6. The film production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein(6-a) said film holding apparatus comprises a combination of a main rollthat can come in contact with the opposite surface of said film to thesurface on which said pattern is formed and an auxiliary roll that cancome in contact with the surface of said film on which said pattern isformed, (6-b) both the roll axis of said main roll and that of saidauxiliary roll are arranged respectively in the width direction of saidfilm, and said main roll and said auxiliary roll are in parallel to eachother with a space for said film to pass between them, (6-c) said mainroll is supported on a main roll support arm in such a manner that itcan rotate around its roll axis, (6-d) said auxiliary roll is supportedon an auxiliary roll support arm in such a manner that it can rotatearound its roll axis, (6-e) said main roll support arm and saidauxiliary roll support arm are fixed to a pedestal, (6-f) said pedestalis supported on a pedestal travelling guide provided in the lengthdirection of said film, in such a manner that it can move in the lengthdirection of said film, (6-g) said film holding apparatus is connectedto a film holding apparatus moving means to move said film holdingapparatus along said pedestal travelling guide, (6-h) in said filmholding apparatus, a processed film is suspended on said main roll andsaid auxiliary roll through an S-shaped path to allow said main roll andsaid auxiliary roll to hold said processed film, and in such a state,said film holding apparatus is moved by said film holding apparatusmoving means from the downstream side toward the upstream side, in orderto peel off said processed film from said mold surface, (6-i) while saidmain roll is prevented from rotating after said film holding apparatushas moved to the upstream side and comes to a halt, said film holdingapparatus is moved by said film holding apparatus moving means over saidmold surface from the upstream side toward the downstream side to supplya new predetermined length of the processing film onto said moldsurface, (6-j) a crease-smoothing roll that is located on the upstreamside of said main roll, with some distance from and in parallel to saidmain roll, and in contact with the opposite surface of said film to thesurface on which said pattern is formed, is used as said creaseformation prevention apparatus, (6-k) said crease-smoothing roll issupported on a crease-smoothing roll support arm in such a manner thatit can rotate around its roll axis, and said crease-smoothing rollsupport arm is fixed to said pedestal, and (6-l) while said film holdingapparatus is moved by said film holding apparatus moving means over saidmold surface from the upstream side toward the downstream side duringsaid processing film supply process, said crease-smoothing roll moves,while rotating, in coordination with the movement of said film holdingapparatus, in order to prevent the formation of creases in saidprocessing film, and simultaneously supply said new predetermined lengthof the processing film onto said mold surface.
 7. The film productionapparatus according to claim 6, wherein said film holding apparatusmoving means comprises either or both of the following: a combination ofsaid main roll and a main roll rotation driving means that positivelydrives the rotation of said main roll, and a combination of saidpedestal and a pedestal driving means that positively moves saidpedestal along said pedestal travelling guide.
 8. The film productionapparatus according to claim 2, wherein the external surface of saidmain roll comprises foam sponge made mainly of a silicone resin or afluorine resin.
 9. The film production apparatus according to claim 6,wherein the external surface of said crease-smoothing roll comprisesfoam sponge made mainly of a silicone resin or a fluorine resin.